


Anywhere for you

by htmlkitty (skyhooksandtrailmix)



Category: Backstreet Boys, NSYNC
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-22
Updated: 2015-08-04
Packaged: 2018-04-05 15:10:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 39,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4184511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skyhooksandtrailmix/pseuds/htmlkitty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Lance Bass is visited by his future self he learns that he must help to save the world from the Backstreet Boys at the 1999 VMAs. The Backstreet Boys are space criminals set for world domination. Will Lance be able to save the world and win Justin Timberlake's heart at the same time?</p><p>Part adventure story, mostly romantic comedy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story is also a webcomic at http://fictionaladventuresofnsync.tumblr.com/

_It's tearin' up my heart when I'm with you_  
_But when we are apart, I feel it too_  
_And no matter what I do, I feel the pain_

 _with_ _or without you_

The guys had devoted a lot of time and energy to preparing for their upcoming VMA performance with Britney Spears. It was clearly starting to pay off. They were doing a school themed number that would begin with Britney singing "Baby, one more time", then they would perform "Tearin up my heart" which they were running through right now.

_Baby I don't understand_

_Just why we can't be lovers_  
_Things are getting out of hand_  
_Trying too much, but baby we can"t win_

"Good, it's starting to look really good now" commented the choreographer with a satisfied smile. Nsync were dancing almost perfectly in time. Except one of them was a little off.

 _Let it go_  
_If you want me girl, let me know_  
_I am down, on my knees_

_I can't take it anymore_

"Lance, stay focused" the choreographer shouted.

"Sorry" he whispered as he continued dancing.

"Maybe if you tried taking your eyes off Justin" Chris jokingly remarked.

Was it that noticeable?

"Shut up!" Lance said as he glared at Chris.

Chris laughed.

Lance was blushing from Chris's comment, he figured if he kept dancing it wouldn"t be obvious. Justin briefly turned back and smiled sympathetically at Lance in between moves.

It's tearin' up my heart when I'm with you  
But when we are apart, I feel it too  
And no matter what I do, I feel the pain  
with or without you

Lance was trying his very best to keep up with everybody else. He mostly did, except for a few moments. You could say something, or someone was distracting him.

As rehearsal finished Britney walked over to the corner of the room to collect her handbag.

"You guys did great, seeya at the VMAs" she smiled at each member of nsync but stopped on Justin.

"Thanks Britney, you were too" replied Justin sweetly.

Lance glared off to the side uninterestedly.

Justin and Britney weren't dating...yet. But he could see it coming and he was not looking forward to it. He would try to remind himself to be happy for Justin. He wanted to be, he cared for him a whole lot. But Justin not being single would make his crush on him feel way weirder than it already did. At least this way he could tell himself that maybe there was some wild chance that one day Justin would return his feelings. A boy can dream, can't he?

Justin was so special in Lance's mind. He was so talented, so effortlessly charming. Lance looked up to him a lot. At first he thought that his feelings were just admiration. But it was more than that.

They grew very close in the time when the group was starting out and Lou Pearlman was dragging them around Europe. Being the two youngest members of the group often meant that they would have to stay behind in hotels while the other guys went out to bars and clubs. They grew to not mind this as they quickly became best friends.

These nights that they would spend in the hotels almost had a certain intimacy about them. They would stay up late and talk about almost anything. Things that they may have never told anybody else before. This dynamic stayed a part of their friendship since then. They generally tell each other about anything that"s going on in their lives.

It felt like Justin understood what Lance was going through more than anyone else in the group. Except for the liking guys part that is. With that he was 99℅ sure that he was alone.

He"d known that he had a crush on Justin since a year ago. This was when he felt himself getting a bit too excited about their friendship.

He noticed himself getting lost in Justin"s confident and graceful movements at rehearsal. He started to feel almost like his world revolved around being friends with Justin and when they were going to hang out next. The other guys started pointing out how he would bring Justin up in conversations that had absolutely nothing to do with him. After that, he made more of an effort to hide it.

Talking to Justin made him feel good about himself, in a way that nobody else could. It was something about the way Justin looked when Lance spoke. As though he was giving Lance his full, undivided attention. Like each word was more interesting than the last. Though, maybe he did that for everybody. It's possible, Justin was the guy with the flawless people skills.

..and the pretty boy look..and all the girls wanted him. All the girls and Lance.

He wishes he could be that perfect, but we can't all be like Justin Timberlake.

* * *

 

Lance brought a tub of vanilla ice cream back from the kitchen and collapsed on the couch. He turned on the TV and was glad to see that the queer as folk was on. It had become his favourite show, but he pretended that it hadn't. He buried his spoon into the tub and sighed. Romantic dramas filled the void in his life that he wishes was filled with Justin. But in the mean time he will have to settle for living vicariously through Michael, Brian, Ted and Emmet.

Lance's attention shifted to the air in his house. It felt somehow thinner and lighter than usual. It was a kind of unexplainable difference, but it was certainly there.

A light crackling sound startled him. He couldn't tell where it was coming from, but it sounded like it was coming from inside the house. It continued.

He rose from the couch and searched for the source of this phenomena cautiously. Just then, a pool of light began to form on his living room floor.

The crackling had gotten deafeningly loud by this point and transformed into an urgent beeping.

"What is going on" Lance said aloud in disbelief, wishing that he had taken Chris up on his offer of living in his spare room. Instead of living alone like an idiot who was probably about to get abducted by aliens, and sold as pretty blonde space meat.

The beeping sped up and at this point all that Lance could do was stare, well, that and grab the lamp that was next to him. He wasn"t going to be completely defenseless.

A large silver box began to materialize from the glowing pool. The beeping stopped.

"Um, hello?" Lance asked shakily as he raises the lamp with his trembling arms.

He took a step back as he heard what sounded like the turning of a complex lock.

The door of the box flew open and a blonde man of around 50 clambered out. This man looked familiar, yet he couldn't put his finger on it. Not that figuring out who this old guy who just freaking materialized in the middle of his living room reminded him of was his top priority right now.

"Hello Lance, don't worry I mean you no harm" the man said as he confidently strode forward "so you can put that lamp down" he added.

"What are you!?" Lance stuttered with the lamp grasped tightly in his sweaty palms, held over his shoulder ready to strike with.

"I traveled here from the future, the world as we know it is in danger and I need your help to restore everything to its proper order" he explained.

"Yeah, right" Lance scoffed. His voice was still a little shaky. "Did Chris set you up to this? Or was it JC? I bet those guys think this is really funny. Is this his sick way of getting back at me for not wanting to live with him? I'm sorry, I just can't live with a man who will go so far to avoid washing up that will go for months just using paper plates. Don't get me started on-"

"I don't blame you, I wouldn't want to live with Chris either" the older man chuckled. The corners of his green eyes crinkled as he smiled. "Lance, you don"t understand" he added calmly.

"Then why don't you tell me if I don't understand? Who are you anyway?" Lance interrogated.

"Lance..." He took a breath as he paused "I'm you".

"W...what?" He lowered the lamp "Really?".

"Yes, really"

As Lance examined the time travelers face it was clear why he looked familiar. He had his same green eyes, his same smile, but he would require more proof than that.

"So, if you're me then what are my parent's names?" Lance questioned.

"Diane and James" the man replied.

"That was too easy, I need to think of something that only I would know" Lance pondered for a moment.

"I know about the time you time you were home alone when you were 12. You were trying on one of your mothers more outrageous jacket the man interrupted.

Lances eyes widened.

He elaborated "Well, not by Nsync standards, but for a 12 year old southern boy it was a bit out there. You got chocolate ice cream on it. Rather than letting your mother find out that you tried on her clothes, or, oh I don't know, using water, you thought it would be a good idea to try and bleach it out. This of course made it worse, because instead if a chocolate stain it was now a bleach stain. You didn't know what else to do and you were so worried that somebody might see it in the bin that you buried it in the backyard. You felt awful about it".

"Oh my gosh! I never told anyone about that!" Lance exclaimed embarrassedly.

"Wow.." Lance muttered to himself in amazement as he placed the lamp back on the table and stepped closer to his future self. "So you're definitely not playing a trick on me?".

"No Lance".

He looked the older man up and down with wide eyed fascination. "You have to tell me something..." Lance stated in a more serious tone.

"I understand that you would have a lot of questions, this is a rather unusual situation, I'll do my best" the time travelled replied.

"Yes...you see, I was wondering..." He casts his solemn gaze down for a moment, then back up at Future Lance. "Do I ever get to bang Justin?"

Future Lance choked on his own saliva. He coughed and thumped his chest a few times. This was not the type of question that he was expecting. "I can't tell you things like that" he spat.

"Aw, then what's the use of you then" Lance pouted as he folded his arms. He was at least half joking. "Well, what can I ask you about then?".

"Well, I could tell you what I came here to tell you?"

"Fiine" Lance sighed.

"Ok, good. Well, I come from an alternate timeline where your space mission was never canceled."

"My space mission?" Lance raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Yes, in the year 2002 you undergo training with NASA but then, right before your launch the sponsors pull out. No insurance company would cover your mission." Future Lance explained.

"Well, I doubt I"ll be undergoing training now that I know that" Lance said somewhat dissapointedly.

"I realize that" Future Lance stated as he rubbed the back of his neck. "You see, I know that me telling you things like this may alter the future, but to be honest it's a risk that i'll willingly take. Whatever happens is better than the future that I came from. And you need to know the situation."

"So what is it? Aliens? War? Corrupt politicians?"

"No it's..."

Future Lance looked present Lance straight in the eye.

"It's...it's the Backstreet boys, Lance." He said solemnly.

"The Backstreet boys?" Needless to say, Lance was significantly bamboozled by this.

"Yes, there is something that you don"t know about them".

BANG BANG BANG BANG

Both Lances were startled by a knock at the door.

"Um um!" Lance franticly ran around his house looking for a place to hide this older man.

"GET IN HERE!" He cried as he anxiously shoved him into his bedroom and shut the door.

Lance pushed the silver box that Future Lance had arrived in into the corner of the room and threw a sheet over it. The box was surprisingly lightweight.

Lance turned and took a deep breath. He fixed his hair as he approached the source of the knocking.

As much as this was literally the worst timing for a guest to come over, a smile couldn"t help but creep across his face when he saw who was standing at his doorstep.

"Hey Lance, what's up?" Justin said as let himself in.

"Um, not much really" he lied. "What about you?"

He should have made an excuse, but he could never turn down spending time with Justin. Besides, he could always make an excuse for him to leave after hanging out for at least a little while. He was just so happy to see Justin's face.

"I'm so bored today, thought I may as well come see what you're up to. It"s gotta be more interesting than my house" explained Justin as he sat down on the couch.

He was right about that. Lance wasn't planning on letting him find out though.

"I was just watching TV, I'm not too exciting either i'm afraid" Lance tried to say casually as he realized that Queer as Folk was still on the TV. He hastily changed the channel.

"We could go to the park and play some basketball?" Justin suggested.

"Uh, I don't know, I"m not really in a basketball mood" said Lance hesitantly.

Suddenly there was a loud crashing sound that seemed to come from the bedroom. Lance froze.

"What was that?" Justin turned to the bedroom then to Lance.

"What was what?" He nervously stalled

"That crashing sound! It sounded like it came from your bedroom" Justin asserted as he rose from his place on the couch to investigate.

Lance jumped up and stood slightly in front of him, blocking his way to the bedroom. "It's probably just this new vase I bought! I put it in a precarious place on my bedside table, it must have fallen off! He struggled to explain as he slowly walked backwards. With Justin still slowly walking towards the bedroom. Lance began to sweat.

"Lance" Justin smirked "do you have a guy in there?" He playfully accused.

"What?" "No" he glanced at the bedroom door that he was now standing in front of.

He realized that he was coming up with no other explanation to keep Justin from seeing Future Lance.

"Well...I mean..." Lance looked at the floor, avoiding Justin's gaze "yes".

"Oh" Justin's eyes widened in surprise. Lance thought he almost looked dissapointed for a moment but that was probably wishful thinking.

"Uh..sorry, I didn't mean to intrude or anything" Justin was a little flustered but he barely showed it. He had this way about him where he always seemed cool and collected. "I can come back some other time if you want?"

"Actually, that might be best" replied Lance who was still having trouble looking Justin in the eye.

They both walked back towards the front door and Lance sighed with relief. It was still a little awkward though. Even though he had come out to his band mates they hadn"t actually known of him being with a guy yet. So this was kind of a first.

"So again, I'm sorry. I shouldn"t have just come by unannounced like that." Justin reiterated.

"No, no, it's fine, I love your unexpected visits" Lance reassured. "Besides, the other guys come by unannounced all the time too. I can't remember the last time Chris let me know before coming over."

"Alright then" Justin smiled confidently and messed up Lances hair "just make sure next time you let me know if I'm interrupting anything".

"I will" Lance replied embarrassedly. Lance felt giddy whenever Justin did anything like that. He liked to think that he had gotten better at not letting it show though.

"Good, well, I"ll leave you to it. See ya"

"Bye..." He lingered at the door for a moment to dreamily watch Justins denim clad legs walk away before he turned back inside the house. Lance loved how Justin looked when he wore those jeans.

He sighed as he closed the door behind him.

Lance stomped over to his bedroom and swung the door open

"What the fuck was that!? Do you not get that Justin can't know that I'm hiding my future self in my room?" Lance dragged his hands over his face then through his hair in a stressed manner. "Now he thinks I'm sleeping with someone".

"I'm sorry" said Future Lance earnestly.

Lance took a deep breath "It's ok".

"I accidentally knocked over your big lorax figure, I forgot about that thing. It was kind of wild seeing my old room again to be honest"

"that would be a bit weird" Lance smiled slightly.

He hadn't contemplated how strange this must be for his future self before that moment.

"It uh...it's not broken is it?" He had to ask.

"No, it's fine" future Lance replied.

"Alright, good. Wanna sit down and tell me the rest of what you were saying?"

"Sure"

Future Lance sat down on a chair in the corner of the room and Lance sat on his queen sized bed.

Lance broke the silence "so...the Backstreet Boys?"

"Ah, yes, the Backstreet Boys" he stroked his chin "They are not what they seem. I don't know if you are going to believe me though."

"Try me"

"So, in the future people like me have only had access to time travel technology for a short while. Whereas the Backstreet Boys, they have always had access to this technology, because they are not from here." He looks Lance in the eye "they are from space".

"From space?" Lance uttered in disbelief.

"Yes, Astoria to be exact. They come from a galaxy that is similar to ours, however their equivalent of earth"s moon is thriving with life and advanced technology. This is where they were born."

Future Lance waited for Lance's response, but he was speechless so Future Lance continued.

"There is a lot that I don't know about them. They might seem harmless now, but soon..." He frowns down at the large scars on his ageing hands "soon they won't be".

He goes on "It seemed like they got signifigantly more influencial and powerful after the 1999 VMAs. I have no idea why, but i'm hoping that we will be able to figure that out. As it is at this point in time, they have been using their band as a cover, while they travel back in time committing crimes, gathering resources to grow stronger and more powerful. It's the perfect cover really, who would consider you a suspect if you were playing a show in front if thousands of people at the time the crime was committed? A foolproof alibi."

"Why would they do this?" Lance questioned.

"The Backstreet Boys do not value life on earth. They don't seem capable of it" Future Lance answered bitterly. They want to take this planet for all that it"s worth, it"s like a game to them. However, what they do value is power. It seems that they want to rule this world."

"I knew that they were jerks, but I didn't know they were that bad...well, maybe I had a feeling about Kevin." Lance remarked.

"Yes, well we might have a chance to stop them" Future Lance stated.

"Hey, just one question? If you are from an alternate timeline why do you care what happens on this one? Wouldn"t it kinda not make any difference?"

"The time travel technology is quite new so we don't fully understand it ourselves. It's still in its experimental phase. Unlike the Backstreet Boys, we are unable to travel back on the same timeline, only to different ones. However, it seems that when significant enough events are altered on one timeline it ripples across all similar ones. Meaning that we can save both of our timelines." Future Lance explained.

"How though? What makes you think that I will be able to stop them?" Lance was nervously digging his fingers into his mattress as he spoke.

"I have something to show you" Future Lance said calmly as he stood up and walked towards Lance.

Future Lance sat down next to his present self on the bed and reached his hand into his jacket pocket.

"Ah, here it is" he removed his hand from his jacket revealing a jagged purple crystal in the palm of his hand. It was attached to a string that linked it to the jacket pocket. It shone like nothing Lance had ever seen before.

"Um..that's really pretty, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"I found this on the moon" Future Lance began as he detached the string from his jacket. "The main source of the Backstreet Boy's power comes from the minerals in their home planets surface. The planet the most similar to Astoria in this galaxy is earth's moon."

"What powers do you mean?" Lance questioned.

"I'm not even sure myself of the full extent of the Backstreet Boy's powers. However, they don"t seem to have begun using them yet on this timeline. My guess is that they are just trying to fly under the radar as much as possible. They only started using them on my timeline after their intentions of world domination were made obvious to the public. When it was too late to stop them".

"They are capable of things that no regular human is. However-" Future Lance picked up his younger self's hand and placed the crystal in it. "If you keep this crystal on your person after a few days the exposure to the mineral will cause you to develop somewhat similar powers. This might be the only way for us to have a chance of defeating them".

"What!?" Lance exclaimed as he forced the crystal back into future Lance's palm. "This is just getting too weird" he vexed as he rubbed his temples. "How do I even know that exposure to this thing is safe?"

In response to this statement Future Lance gripped the crystal firmly and focused on the large lorax figurine on his younger self"s bedside table.

It got Lance's attention when the figurine began to twitch, eventually levitating for a moment before being lowered back into it"s place.

"To answer your question, i'm fine, aren't I?" Said Future Lance.

"Right.. I forgot"

"I wouldn't make you do it if it wasn't safe. That wouldn't exactly be in my best interest either." Future Lance explained with an empathetic smile as he placed the crystal back in Lance's hand. "Make sure that you keep that safe though, I don"t have another one"

"I think that I have a spare necklace chain to attach it to around here" Lance speculated as he got up to search his desk.

"One more thing..."

"What is it?" Lance asked as he glanced back from his rummaging.

"Is it alright if i stay here? I don't exactly have anybody else I can stay with, and I need to help you stop the Backstreet Boys anyway" future Lance propositioned.

"Uh, like, I guess that's alright" Lance said with little enthusiasm.

Lance really liked having his own space, hence why he lived alone. But more than anything he was worried about there being another incident like earlier with Justin.

However, he also realized that he kind of had no choice.

"Great, well, I'm pretty tired, we can't all be young" the older man chuckled "I might go to bed now if that's alright with you, it's getting late." He began to slide under the covers of the bed they had been sitting on.

"What are you-"

"You can't possibly expect me to sleep on the couch!" Future Lance interrupted indignantly while removing his shirt. "You may still sleep on your band mates couches constantly, but my back isn't up to that sort of thing anymore. Your bed is huge anyway, it'll be like i'm not even here".

Lance looked defeatedly at his future self who was already tucked in and clearly not going anywhere.

"Fiine" he sighed as he grabbed his pyjamas to change into in the next room.

* * *

 

There is nothing quite like being confronted with your own aged face the second that you wake up and open your eyes. Especially when they are sleeping so close that they are breathing warm air onto you. But this is the morning that Lance has had.

"Well, I am definitely going to start using anti-ageing cream" he thought to himself as he examined the unfamiliar lines and stubble of his future face.

As Lance delicately exited the bed, he was careful not to bother the man sleeping beside him. He tried to go about his morning as normal, even though what had preceded was anything but that.

After having breakfast he went to open the front door to let some breeze in. He has a second door with a secure fly screen. So he is able to do this without worrying about stalker fans just walking into his house.

As Lance swung the first door open he was shocked to see a short grinning figure with black and red braids standing in front of him.

"Sweet Jesus" Lance gasped clutching his chest.

"Heeeeeey Bass!" His round eyes were open wide like he was on his fith cup of coffee, but he wasn't. Lance knew him well enough to know that he just had a lot of excess energy at times.

"Hey Chris" he replied breathlessly.

"So uh, you gonna let me in?" Chris asked expectantly while lightly tapping on the door with his fingertips. He was standing so close that his face was almost pressed up against it.

"I don't know about that, it's not really a good time." Lance tried to tell his friend, knowing that it was likely of little use.

"Aw, c'mon dude, don't be like that" he lightly rattled the door "is this about when we were at rehersals? I'm sorry-" he pleaded.

"It's not about that" Lance reassured while remembering just how embarrassed he was.

"Then what is it? I just want to talk to you for like a minute anyway." He persisted.

Lance tiredly looked at Chris's eager face. He couldn't say no to him. If he really did just want to tell him something quickly he supposed it was probably fine.

"Okay, but only for a minute" he said reluctantly.

"Thanks man, it's not like I'm gonna take up all your time. I have stuff that I need to be doing too ya know." Chris smiled as Lance let him inside.

They walked towards the living room.

"So JC called me this morning" Chris began.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, he was thinking if the rest of the guys were down, it might be good to meet up for an extra rehearsal later today."

Then Chris lightly punched Lances arm playfully "and I think that you could use a rehearsal where you don"t just stare at Justin"s sexy moves". He mocked.

"I wasn't staring at Justin! He just happens to have the dance down perfectly so I was trying to copy him, okay!? Lance protested.

Chris actually wasn't wrong. The way that Justin moved his body had become almost hypnotic to Lance. Getting to watch him dance was secretly his favourite part of rehearsal. He could never let any of the guys know that though. He was doing his very best to keep his feelings for Justin a secret. But it was obvious that Chris was starting to catch on.

Chris raised his hands dismissively and smirked "Ok, ok, whatever you say, but don't think that I can't see the thirst in your eyes though". He chuckled while Lance paused uncomfortably.

"Well, we haven't got very long until the VMA's, I could use some extra practice time". Lance said in an attempt to change the subject.

"Yeah dude, it's less than a week away, can you believe it? It felt like we would have waaaay more time to practice".

"At least it's songs that we're already really familiar with." Lance pointed out.

"That's true" Chris nodded. "Hey, do you have anything that I could drink? I"m pretty parched from walking over here".

"I've got some soda in the fridge? Wait there, i'll grab you one."

Lance kind of wanted to avoid Chris seeing his kitchen for the moment. Chris would probably call him a hypocrite if he knew how much he had let his dishes pile up these last few days.

He leaned down into his fridge and retrieved two sodas, then he turned to walk back into the living room.

Lances pulse went up when he saw that Chris was not where he had left him.

"Chris! Where are you?" Lance yelled as he raced to make sure that he was nowhere near his bedroom.

To Lances horror Chris was standing right in front of his bedroom door about to open it. It almost felt like it was happening in slow motion and there was nothing that he could do to stop it.

"Calm down, I'm not gonna mess up your stuff, I just remembered last time I was here I left my-"

Chris froze, staring at the shirtless older blonde man in Lances bed. Lance was now standing behind his friend, panicked and struggling for words. Future Lance turned over and woke from his slumber. He yawned and lazily opened his eyes. He startled when he saw the two men standing in the doorway.

"Uh, hey Chris" Future Lance said awkwardly. He just didn"t know what to say at this point. He was kind of hoping that his younger counterpart would figure that part out.

"Uh...hey old guy in Lance's bed." Chris gave Lance a wide eyed glance. To be honest it almost looked like he was more excited by the drama of what he had just witnessed than he was shocked. Though some shock was clearly there too. Lance was speechless. He was pretty sure there was nothing that he could say to make this situation better.

"I uh..." Chris began as he awkwardly tip toed into the room. "Just...need to get my sweater...then...I"ll be off". He made this clearly uncomfortable moment that much more awkward by still walking in to get the sweater, slowly tip toeing around the room until he found it. You'd swear a part of him found it funny. "Ah, here it is" he said flatly with a smirk. That jerk was finding this hilarious.

"Well" Chris said as he slapped a hand onto Lances shoulder "I think I'll be going now, don't want to be interrupting anything". He started walking back toward the front door and Lance quickly followed.

"Wait, I can explain" he couldn't, but Lance felt like this was what he was meant to say.

"No explanation necessary, it's alright, to each their own" Chris chuckled waving his hands in front of him. As they reached the door Chris leaned in and grinned mockingly "just didn't know that you were into older men Bass".

"But i'm really no-"

"It's ok!" Chris interrupted as he walked past Lance, down the front steps. Then he stopped joking for a second and looked Lance in the eyes sincerely. "I"m not going to judge you" he stated seriously. "You could sleep with the oldest guy in the world and you"d still be my best friend".

Lance half waited for him to turn it into a joke but he didn't.

"...Thank you Chris" he was quite surprised by this odd yet reassuring declaration of their friendship. It was nice.

"Well, i'll see you at rehearsal...if you are able to drag yourself away from your bed that is" he joked.

"I'll be there" Lance smiled.

* * *

 

Justin ran his fingers through his damp blonde curls. It had been raining outside and his baby blue jersey and white pants were soaked just walking from his car to the rehearsal room. As he strode inside he saw three of his band mates sitting there, similarly disheveled.

"Hey man, glad you could make it" a waterdrop slid down JC's face as he smiled at Justin.

"No problem, how's everybody doing today?" Justin asked as he sat down next to them.

"Eh, can't complain" answered Joey in a relaxed manner "I'm pretty relieved we get to have one more rehearsal without everybody else. I think i'll feel way more confident after seeing us do it a few times without the choreographer."

"Yeah, I thought we needed it" explained JC.

Justin glanced at the clock on the wall "Where's Lance? Is he not coming today?"

Lance was usually early so it was quite strange for Justin to arrive and not see him there. JC was usually the late one.

"HA!" Chris blurted out then childishly covered his mouth. "Oh, he's coming today alright" Chris muttered jokingly.

Joey snickered and JC was obviously trying to hold back laughter but a smile was still spreading over his face.

"What are you laughing about?" Justin asked innocently.

"Our little Bass is 'seeing someone' " Chris explained.

"Yeah, I already know that, he told me he had a guy in his room when I was at his house" Justin replied.

"Did he tell you that he"s an 'older gentleman?' " Joey slapped Chris's leg, laughing at the way that he chose to phrase this information.

"Uh..no?" Justin said confusedly. "How old, like 28?"

"Hey! I'm not old!" Exclaimed Chris as he playfully swung his backpack at Justin, hitting him in the leg.

"I'm sorry!" Justin laughed.

"He didn't tell me anything about the guy actually, is he really that old?" Justin spoke with concern in his voice.

Chris nodded "I saw the guy in his bed with my own eyes, he looked around 50. Seems like our Lance is into the 'mature' type".

After Chris, Joey and JC were done having a bit of a chuckle at Lance's expense, Chris felt the need to clarify "In all seriousness though, whatever makes him happy, doesn't bother me. I"m just joking around. I'm glad he finally found someone."

"Yeah, of course. It's just such an unusual situation, you have to be able to joke around a little." JC agreed.

"It's probably better we get it out of our system before Lance arrives." Added Joey.

"What's the matter Justin? Don't think it's even a little funny?" Chris questioned after noticing the worry plastered over Justin's face.

"I...uh...I guess I'm just sorta shocked is all" he struggled to explain. Justin wasn't actually sure just why this made him so uncomfortable. Like, everybody else seemed really accepting. But all he could do was worry about Lance.

Wasn't it normal to be worried though? He wanted to trust that Lance knew what he was doing like the others did. But this old guy could be taking advantage of him! It"s not exactly like Lance is experienced, at least not that he"d told him. This whole thing made Justin feel sick with dread. But he was usually not the type to show it.

Then the group heard the door creak open. They turned to see a drenched Lance enter the room.

"If I'd known it was going to rain this much I would have brought an umbrella" he commented, holding his arms out slightly to display his wet clothes. "Sorry I'm late guys".

He was barely even late, but he was late by Lance standards.

"That's alright, I thought that you might get held up a bit" Chris said with a sly grin.

Chris had a lot of traits that made him a good friend. However keeping secrets wasn't one of them. If something was funny he usually couldn't help himself. On the plus side this meant he was always full of funny stories.

But for this reason, Lance was 90℅ sure that all the guys now thought that he was sleeping with an old geezer. He wasn't going to bring it up though. He was still clinging on to the tiny shred of hope that maybe, just maybe Chris hadn't told them. Joey and JC he could deal with, but Justin.. he didn"t even want to make eye contact with Justin.

Lance put on his best "i"m fine" face and walked towards the guys.

They got straight to work and practiced "Tearin Up My Heart" until they were all exhausted. The whole being embarrassed to even look at Justin thing actually meant that Lance didn"t mess up any of his moves. This was the first rehearsal in while where he didn"t have to keep reminding himself not to stare at him.

As far as they could see they had the routine down perfect.

"I feel good about this, we're gonna rock at the VMAs" declared Joey as he wiped the sweat from his face with a towel.

"Yeah, I really think we're ready" commented JC after he put down his water bottle.

Everybody gathered their belongings and began to walk out of the rehearsal room.

"You guys doing much later?" Justin asked the group.

"Nah, got up way too early today, i'm gonna go home and sleep for a bit" replied JC wearily.

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea-" Chris cut his own sentence off by yawning.

They were all pretty worn out from how hard they worked at rehearsal.

This was good, Lance thought to himself. Rehersal was over and nobody had brought up his "lover" once. They were actually acting pretty normal. Maybe Chris didn"t tell , that does seem pretty unlikely. But hey, weirder things have happened, right?

The group exited the building, said their goodbyes and began making their way to their individual cars.

"Hey Lance! Wait up" called Justin as he followed after him. The water from the wet pavement splashed with each hurried step. The rain had mostly stopped by this point, but there was still a light drizzle.

Lance stopped walking and turned around "Hey Justin, what's up?" He asked curiously.

"I uh... I just wanted to..." Justin hesitated. He wasn't used to not knowing what to say. It was a new feeling.

Lance looked Justin in the eyes properly for the first time today. He could tell that Justin was troubled.

He abruptly wrapped his arms tightly around Lance. "I just wanted to say, not that I'm worried or anything, but you look after yourself, ok?"

"I will" said Lance confusedly, this had taken him by surprise. He had no idea what Justin was talking about, but needless to say, he wasn't complaining.

Justin hugging him goodbye was normal, but he was holding him way tighter than usual today and he still hadn"t let go. The fact that they were out in the cold with their damp clothes made the feeling of his warm body being held firmly against his even more serene.

"And just remember, if something doesn't feel right and you ever need to talk to somebody I'm here" Justin added caringly as he released Lance from his arms.

"Ok..thank you Justin" Lance replied bewilderedly with a huge smile on his face. He was still feeling a bit too overcome with his infatuation to think clearly about why Justin might be saying this.

"Alright, great" concluded Justin as he looked down for a moment. "Well, I should be going, have a good rest of your day Lance".

"Yeah, you too."

"Bye" Justin made a small waving motion as he turned around to go the other way.

"Bye" Lance sighed happily as he shamelessly watched Justin walk up the street. Even the way he walked was perfect.

Unfortunately after a moment it dawned on him why Justin might say those things. Suddenly he felt a whole lot less serene.

"Fucking Chris" he muttered as his giddy happiness was swiftly replaced with embarrassment.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The backstreet boys are actually in this chapter :D.

"Why isn't it working yet?" Lance pouted as he examined the moon crystal which was still attached to a chain around his neck. He glared at it, then at his future self impatiently.

"I don't really know" answered Future Lance honestly. He had just finished pouring his muesli and joined Lanced at the breakfast table."Have you taken it off at any point?".

"I've been wearing it under my clothes this whole time" Lance informed him.

"Hmm..maybe your body has already developed the powers but you just don't know how to use them yet." Future Lance speculated.

"Well how do I use them?" Lance prodded.

"I already told you that I can't tell you that. Believe me, I'd like to. But it's not really something that I can put into words. You just have to get a feeling for it." He glanced at his younger self and observed his bemused expression. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll figure it out, after all..I did." He comforted.

"I hope so" Lance said nervously as he finished his marmalade toast.

Nsync's schedule had been a bit less packed than usual and they were enjoying this short window where they all got to spend a bit more time at home. Not that they hadn't been busy preparing for their upcoming performance at the VMA's, but even that felt pretty relaxing compared to relentless touring.

However, on this particular day Lance was up bright and early because they had a TV appearance later on. It was no big deal, do a short interview and perform a song. In contrast to the VMAs it started to feel a bit petty.

Lance quickly showered and began to get ready. He didn't really have much to do considering how there would be hair and makeup people at the television studio.

He pawed through his wardrobe for an outfit while Future Lance sat on his bed watching him with amusement.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Lance finally asked as he stopped what he was doing and turned around.

"Nothing!" Future Lance smiled with a dismissive hand gesture. "Seeing you do this kinda stuff just takes me back is all."

"Ah ok." He went back to picking out shirts, holding them against his body with a grimace, then putting them back in the wardrobe.

"You should wear your denim on denim coordinate set with the bedazzled flames, that one was my favourite" Future Lance smirked. It was almost hard to tell whether he was being sarcastic or sincere. Maybe it was kind of both.

"I uh..don't think that I know of that one." Replied Lance confusedly as he briefly looked back at the older man.

"Ohhhh" Future Lance said then lightly hit himself "actually, that was in 2000, sorry."

"It's kind of easy to loose track sometimes." Future Lance laughed.

"That's alright" Lance smiled good naturedly. He turned around once again but this time holding a muted lime green jacket with a black collar and detail, a black T-shirt and tight jeans. "What do you think about this?" He asked while holding the clothes against his body.

"Looking good" complimented Future Lance as he gave a thumbs up.

"Ok" Lance smiled accomplishedly as he went to get changed in the bathroom.

Even though Lance was beggining to grow more comfortable with the idea of him being in his house, for some reason he just couldn't get comfortable with the idea of changing in in front of Future Lance.

"So are you sure your gonna be alright while I'm gone?" Lance called out to the other room as he adjusted his open jacket.

"Don't even worry about me, I'll be fine." Future Lance called out. His voice sounded like it was getting closer.

At times it felt like Lance's future self followed him around like a needy puppy. But in some ways he actually was kind of like a lost puppy, it's not like he had anybody else or a life of his own here. Young Lance was kind of all that he had to cling on to. At least while he's in this particular timeline.

Lance wondered what kind of a life his future self led on his own timeline, aside from the Backstreet Boys trying to take over the world part, obviously. Are he and the guys from Nsync still friends? Did he find a man that loves him? He was very full of curiosity that he knew his future self would not satisfy. He'd just say something like "I can't tell you about that".

"Maybe after I save the world I'll ask him again" Lance half seriously thought to himself. "Then..well, he'll kind of owe me." He concluded.

"So, like, I'll totally be fine here and all.." Future Lance began, now standing outside the bathroom door. "But I have to admit, I kind of wish I was able to come with." He hinted not so subtilty.

Future Lance had expressed previously just how much he wanted to see Nsync perform again for nostalgia reasons.

Lance opened the bathroom door and walked out. He continued the conversation while hurrying around house trying to grab his things that he needed with Future Lance following behind.

"I know that it must suck being stuck at home for so long-"

"It does" Future Lance bluntly interrupted.

"But" Lance said sternly "I'm sorry, I just can't risk it. What if word got out that some random old guy is living with me? I can see the headlines now 'Nsync's Lance Bass and his secret elderly lover' ".

"You know, 50 actually isn't that old" future Lance stated as he folded his arms. He was clearly offended.

"Sorry" he paused for a moment as he picked up his keys, looking Future Lance straight in the eyes. "I just have a lot at stake, you of all people would have to understand that".

"Yeah.." Future Lance sighed defeatedly.

"Thanks for understanding, I won't be too long." He assured in a rush as he ran his fingers through his pale blonde hair one last time and headed for the door.

"You just don't want to risk Justin seeing me." Future Lance muttered bitterly.

Lance pretended not to hear that and shut the door behind him.

After grumbling for a moment about the fact that Lance had ignored him, Future Lance sat himself down on the couch. He was so sick of being essentially housebound, he never got to do anything fun. It's not like it would be that hard for Lance to take him out once in a while. At least he doesn't think so.

Future Lance switched on the TV. But at this time of day it's him mostly just infomercials and jerry springer reruns.

He groaned painfully at his own boredom as he stretched out on the couch. He couldn't do this much longer.

He really didn't see why he couldn't come along. It wouldn't even be bad as long as he and Lance didn't leave and arrive at the same time. Because really, if they attend separately what makes him any different to any other member of the audience?

Future Lance perked up.

Chris is the only one besides Lance who knows what he looks like anyway, so as long as neither of them notice him, he's fine. Lance wouldn't even have to know. And what he doesn't know can't hurt him right?

Future Lance bounced up to check himself in the mirror. He was so excited about the idea of getting to be in the audience of an Nsync show.

For an ordinary man getting out of the house after Lance had locked it would be an issue, but not for Future Lance. Same goes for getting into the studio audience uninvited. Since giving his moon crystal to Lance his powers that he gained from it were gradually fading away, but not by too much yet. He still had some tricks up his sleeve if he needed them. For now at least.

As Future Lance approached the front door he focused his energy. He inhaled sharply and continued walking. His body fluidly passed straight through the door. He was now standing outside Lance's house with no damage done to the door.

He felt pretty proud of himself. He also felt a bit like a rebellious teenager sneaking out when his dad told him not to.

* * *

 

The boys were in hair and makeup getting the finishing touches to their look. They had 10 minutes until showtime.

Lance had kind of intended to avoid Justin like he had at rehearsal, he simply didn't know what to say or how to act around him anymore. He couldn't bare the thought that Justin, the boy who he had dreamed would one day want him, now thought that he was sleeping with an old man.

So even if it turned out that he wasn't straight after all, he'd never want him now.

However Justin didn't let Lance avoid him. In fact, since he got there it felt like Justin kept going out of his way to be nice to him. Not that he wasn't usually nice to Lance, but it was a lot more pronounced today. So much so that at times it would cause Chris and to snicker. Lance would give him a judging glare then ignore him.

Even though it was awkward, Lance kind of appreciated how concerned Justin was for him. It was honestly suprising.

"Am I pretty yet?" Joey joked to the woman who was styling his hair as he fluttered his eyelashes.

"Almost" she giggled while running waxy gel through his flaming red hair.

"You're always pretty Joey" Chris Snided.

"Oh thank you Christopher!" Joey gushed exaggeratedly.

"All done, Justin" the man who was styling his hair informed him. He had finished making his bouncy curls sit perfectly.

"Thanks Boris!" Justin energetically bounced up from his chair.

"I wonder if they're gonna ask us any tough questions this time." JC pondered while rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

"I doubt it" Lance guessed "It'll probably be mostly promo for the VMAs."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Replied JC somewhat dissapointedly.

The stylists were finished and the guys stood up to wait around for showtime.

"5 minutes till we're rolling! Get Nsync out on stage" Shouted a stressed employee as they urgently rushed to get things ready.

The group squeezed through the narrow corridor to the stage. There was a small couch and three chairs for them to sit on. A recliner chair held the TV shows host, who was a woman named Tyler.

Lance clumsily made his way to the couch and Justin sat down next to him. He gave him a small smile as he sat down that Lance couldn't help but mirror.

Lance could get used to Justin being worried about him. Though he wishes that he was acting this way for a different reason.

* * *

 

.

While this was happening Future Lance had recently gotten off the bus and was almost at the television studio.

It had been a bizarre experience getting himself there. This was pretty much the first time that he had really stepped foot outside in the past. It was a funny feeling being able to walk wherever he wanted without having people point or come up to him. Even though Lance Bass was a name that every teenage girl knew at this point in time. In this timeline he was just another nobody. He didn"t even need to wear sunglasses or anything like that.

He felt pretty pleased with himself when he made it to the studio. He vaguely remembered this TV appearance, but not well. There were so many to remember.

He struggled to figure out the layout of the building, but he had to find out a way in somehow. For staters he walked along the length of the building, examining it's every detail. He wasn't getting any ideas.

After a while he decided that he might just wing it. As long as he wasn't reckless about it, he should be ok.

Future Lance walked to the back of the dull building. It seemed that nobody else was there.

He anxiously looked from side to side to make absolutely certain that he wasn't being watched. Then he slowly leant into the wall, dissapeaning into it.

* * *

 

"We are joined here in the studio today by famous pop group nsync, so give it up for Justin, Joey, JC, Chris and Lance!" Tyler announced excitedly. This was followed by the deafening roar of the studio audience.

The guys all grinned and greeted the host. JC and Justin waved to the audience in acknowledgment.

The interview went smoothly. It was much as Lance had predicted, they asked a lot of questions about the upcoming VMA performance. Which the guys were happy to answer.

Then, after asking them some less serious question it was time for them to perform.

They had decided on "I want you back".They got into position and the music started. The audience went absolutely wild. None more than a certain someone.

* * *

 

"Hey Tim! Check out that guy" one young camera man hushedly said to the other as he attempted to hold back laughter.

"Who do you mean?" Tim asked interestedly.

"That guy! The old timer with the blonde hair, 2nd row from the back." The camera man explained in a gruff tone as he gestured towards an audience member.

"Oh my.. Is he in the wrong place? What is he doing?" Tim chuckled feeling some second hand embarassment.

"I don't know..I don't know.." He trailed off as he peered into his camera to get a close up.

* * *

 

In a city not too far away, five other men were watching this very same television appearance.

"You know guys, I didn't get the TV installed in the tour bus so we could sit around and watch 'Nstink' all day" snapped AJ as he stood over the others with his hands on his hips.

"Shhhh" hushed Kevin uninterestedly. He didn"t even give AJ the satisfaction of a stern glance. He just held out his hand as a stop signal and continued watching.

"Just sit down" added Nick rudely. He looked up at AJ with a faint arrogant smile.

"Oh shut the fuck up Nick! I'm sick of you trying to act like you're Kevin's sidekick, you're not, you're a bratty little kid!" Argued AJ.

AJ was often quick to anger, especially when he felt disrespected. But when a kid like Nick disrespected him, it made his already short temper much shorter.

"I am no-"

"Quiet!" Kevin bellowed authoritatively at both of them.

"Sorry Kevin" Nick muttered, shooting AJ a bitter glance.

AJ sat down with the rest of them. They all watched the interview attentively but would occasionally look back at Kevin who totally focused on the program. Almost like they were trying to gage a reaction from Kevin's pokerface.

"It is in our best interest to keep an eye on Nsync's activities" stated Kevin after the interview finished. His hawk-like eyes finally looked away from the screen.

"That's fine i just wish that we didn't have to hear their awful songs" chuckled Brian as 'I want you back' began to blare from the TV. The TV would cut between shots of the guys dancing masterfully and random closeups of the audience. Usually of a teenage girl overcome with emotion.

"It's a necesary sacrifice" replied Kevin coldly.

"Hey, Kevin" Howie spoke urgently as he grabbed his band mates toned arm. "Look at that" He eagerly drew Kevin"s attention back to the TV.

On the TV was a break from the standard closeup of the young female fan. Though certainly no less emotional. There he was, Future Lance. He looked overwhelmed and quite obviously on the verge of tears, yet he had the most sincere smile on his face. Heartfeltly singing along to every word.

He was swaying, with a hand clutched to his chest against a backdrop of unknowing teenage fans. Some of whom were side eying him or pointing him out to their friends to giggle at. If they only knew.

"Lance Bass" Kevin growled as his eyes narrowed. "He really thinks he can stop us this time does he?"

"He sure doesn't know when to quit" commented Nick.

"Well" Kevin breifly raised his powerful eyebrows as he considered this development. "He can try if he wants to, but it will be futile. He will still meet the same fate" He solemnly concluded.

"The VMAs sure are going to be 'interesting' this time around." AJ smirked excitedly.

* * *

 

Future Lance had discreetly ducked out of the studio a little before the end. He had to make sure that he got back home before his younger self did.

He ended up getting a taxi, it seemed wisest to not take chances on the bus.

He smiled wistfully as he stared out the window while the taxi raced him home. He was so happy that he got to see Nsync perform one more time. It was the next best thing to getting to go on one last tour himself.

Eventually they pulled into Lance's driveway. Future Lance hurriedly paid the driver, then he leaped out and rushed for the front steps of the house.

After ensuring that nobody was around to see him, he dissapeared into the door, then reappeared inside the house.

"Hey Lance...Are you there!?" He called out worriedly. He was very pleased when he heard no response.

"Laaaaaaance!" The silence confirmed that he had beaten his younger self home. A wave of relief washed over his body.

He grinned with satisfaction at what he had just gotten away with.

Future Lance began to walk towards the bathroom to double check that there was definitely no evidence of his little outing. He picked up the remote and turned on the TV on his way. He Figured that it might look a little suspicious if the TV wasn"t on when Lance got home. It's not like he really had much else to do to pass time without Lance. At least not on this timeline anyway.

He sung "I want you back" to himself quietly, bouncing slightly as he examined himself in the mirror. Everything appeared to be in order. He smoothed out the wrinkles of the teal button up shirt that he was wearing as he went back to watch TV.

Future Lance laid his whole body out over the couch. He was flicking through the channels when he stumbled across something that he hadn"t seen since his youth.

"Oh...my...gosh" Future Lance spoke out loud as his eyes widened.

The familiar upbeat dance music, the lives and loves of Brian, Michael, Ted, Emmet, Justin, Debbie, Lindsay, and Melanie. They were like old friends. How did he forget about queer as folk?

He sighed fondly as he remembered how much this show used to mean to him. Back before he had ever even had an actual boyfriend. Back when half his thoughts were occupied with wondering whether or not Justin would ever like him back. Back when It felt like the tiniest rejection from Justin could make or break him.

It kind of made him feel sorry for present Lance. Being young is hard.

Then he heard the sound of somebody walking up the front steps, followed by the clicking of keys in the lock.

Future Lance got his best "I've been sitting at home all day" face ready for when Lance opened the door.

"Hey, sorry I was gone so long, you weren't too bored were you?" Lance asked tiredly as he walked inside, locking the door behind him.

"I guess" Future Lance muttered with fake bitterness. "How did the appearance go?"

"Yeah, it was good, I didn"t mess up or anything, so there's that. It was pretty standard." Lance replied while taking his jacket off and placing it on the back of a chair.

"I still watch queer as folk?" Lance surprisedly asked his future self as he noticed the tv.

"No, actually I haven't watched it since I was close to your age." Answered future Lance. "It was just on TV..but I kind of want to watch all of it now." He smirked.

Their conversation was interrupted by Lances phone ringing.

"Well, whatever you do, don't tell me what happens in the end." Lance joked as he went to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hey Bass" Chris greeted enthusiastically. "How's it going?"

"Still good..I saw you less than an hour ago" Lance answered with suspicion.

"I know, I know, BUT you know how sometimes I like to record our interviews to watch at home? To see how we come across and junk?"

"Yes..?" Replied Lance hesitantly. He was worried that he had been wrong in his judgment before. Maybe he had actually made some glaring mistake and Chris was calling him up just to ridicule him about it. But then Chris interupted that train of thought with something unexpected.

"I just wanted to know why you didn't tell us that your boyfriend was there in the audience?"

"..My..boyfriend?" Lance loudly confirmed that he had heard his friend correctly. Future Lance immediately sat up from his relaxed pose when he heard the stern, serious tone of his younger self's voice. He knew that he was in trouble.

"Yeah, I saw him in the audience, singing his heart out I might add. Why didn"t you tell us? We could have said hey".

"He's not my boyfriend" Lance stated reflexively while he processed this information. He was trembling slightly. He honestly couldn't tell if it was the shock or the slowly building anger that was doing it.

"Ahh, I just figured because it seemed like if he was at your TV appearance, then it must be at least a bit serious. Well, whatever he is, if he's a regular part of your life the rest of the guys want to meet your mystery man".

"They do?" Lance asked monotonley. He was so done with this.

"Of course they do! We're like brothers, after all, you've been introduced to every girlfriend I've had." Chris argued vibrantly. "Well, every one I've had while I've known you at least" he clarified.

At this point Lance was just overwhelmed by the situation. The idea of the guys meeting his future self, thinking that he is the type of guy that Lance is attracted to makes him cringe.

"Yeah..but, it's not like it's that serious or anything." Lance nervously debated.

"Aww Lance, you don't need to be embarrassed." Chris consoled mockingly. "Besides the guys already know what he looks like anyway so what's the big deal?"

"They do?" Lance furrowed his brow.

"..Ok I MIGHT have shown them the video." Chris confessed.

"You showed them the video.." Lance spoke with a mix of disbelief and anger in his voice.

"Yes! But! They just really wanted to know what he looked like! When I was on the phone to joey he insisted on coming over to watch it. I didn't know that he"d bring JC and Justin too. But they aren't judging you, I promise, they were just curious." Chris was the most flustered Lance had heard him in a while.

Chris had a big mouth, that was something that everybody was used to. However it seemed like this time he might be kind of aware that he went too far.

"Sorry" he simply added after a brief pause, with no elaboration.

Lance took a deep breath to calm himself. "It's ok Chris. I'd just rather if you would let me have some aspects of my life even a little bit private."

He did everything that he could to not think about Justin watching the video. At least until he was off the phone.

"Yeah.. I guess I forget that some people don't like to brag about whoever they are with." He said earnestly. "We're cool right?".

"Yeah, we're fine" Lance reassured. "If it's alright though I should probably get off the phone" he gave Future Lance a glare that struck fear into his heart. "I have some things that I have to take care of.".

"That's alright, I should get going too. I guess the next time I see you might be at the VMAs?" Chris speculated. "Well, have a good rest of your day. Don't do anything I wouldn't do".

After a moment he added "Except your mystery man, you can do him if you want" Chris couldn't help but end on a joke.

"Ok" Lance giggled uncomfortably "bye then".

"Bye dude".

Lance hung up the phone and walked menacingly towards Future Lance who was helplessly sweating on the couch.

"I"m sorry!" Future Lance cried anxiously.

"I can't believe you! Not only do you lie to me and sneak out, you go and get yourself on live TV!" Lance"s fists were clenched with rage as he marched towards him.

"I didn't know that they filmed me, I thought they only showed the young female members of the audience." Future Lance explained shakily as he stood up and walked around the back of the couch to avoid a fast approaching Lance. "I didn't think that it would make a difference to you." He added, his hands were up defensively.

"Didn't think it would make a difference to me!?" Lance shouted indignantly as his future self walked briskly past the dining table. "Come back here!"

This outburst caused his future self to power walk into Lances room and lock the door behind him. He knew that his younger self wasn"t the violent type, but he nonetheless felt threatened and it felt like the right thing to do in the moment. However this just served to further enrage young Lance.

"Let! Me! In!" Lance demanded frustratedly, banging on the door between each word.

"Not until you calm down" replied Future Lance flusteredly. He was leaning his body against the door. Even though he was safe he still felt nervous.

"I will not calm down, do you have any idea how much you have messed things up between me and Justin? You have basically destroyed any slight chance that I may have had with him! Why would he ever want me now that he probably thinks I'm some freak with an old man fetish!? I've put up with so much for you! You're ruining my life and this is the thanks I get!?"

Lance slammed his fist on the door in frustration.

"I'm sorry" repeated future Lance urgently. It was of little use though.

Lance threw the weight of his body into the next slam of his fist against the door. However to his surprise there was no familiar banging sound.

In fact he now found himself fallen over on the floor of his bedroom, next to Future Lances feet. Did he really just pass through the door?

They gazed wide eyed at each other for a moment speechlessly.

"Yay! You've got your powers!" Cheered Future Lance as he clapped in an exaggerated fashion. He still had a hint of worry in his voice but was trying to make the best of the situation.

After a moment of shock Lance began to laugh. Suddenly he felt a bit ridiculous for how angry he was.


	3. Chapter 3

Justin had been on the phone to management all morning. They were going over the final arrangements for the VMAs. Two private planes had been arranged to to fly Nsync to new York the day before the event.

He had just been informed that he was to be in the plane with Lance. Chris, Joey and JC were going to be in the other plane. This had never happened before. Most of the time when flights were booked he ended up with Chris and JC. Not all alone with Lance.

He actually felt kind of happy about this. It had felt like Lance had been acting different lately. It was hard to explain, but he just felt more..distant. Lance didn"t seem as at ease as he normally did when they were around each other.

A part of him wondered if it was because of his boyfriend. Or you know, whatever he is. Justin had been thinking about this way more than he felt he should be.

It kind of worried him. Well, his best friend being with somebody that old in the first place worried him, but that wasn't all. He felt weird about how at times it almost felt like he was obsessing over Lance. It's felt like that since the day that Lance told him he was seeing someone. He hadn't even thought about Britney.

 

It started with being concerned for him. Now..now he wasn't even sure.

He thought that maybe things would get less weird if they could just spend some time together. After all, Lance is his best friend, it shouldn't have to feel weird.

 

* * *

 

 

"When am I going to be able to actually control my powers?" Lance asked his future self frustratedly.

"I don't know" future Lance puzzled as he watched him busily sweeping up the shards of a broken dish that he had accidentally levitated off the table.

"That's your answer to like, everything" Lance said with a small smile on his face.

"Well, it's just when I got the powers I didn't really have any trouble controlling them. It must be different on this timeline." Future Lance explained "Let's just hope that you can get used to them before the VMAs.

"Hey..What are you going to do while I'm at the VMAs?" Lance enquired.

"Well, I'd thought maybe I'd get the train to New York. I wouldn't be at the VMAs with you, but I could get a room in the same hotel as you so I'd be around if you needed me" suggested Future Lance.

"That would be alright. We're staying at the empire hotel" Lance informed him. He then walked over to a chest of drawers to look for something.

"Great, so I'll be able to meet you there then?" Asked future Lance.

"Yeah" Lance threw a mobile phone into future Lances lap. "Take this with you. It's just a spare I have since I got a newer model. If we pick up a sim card for it today it should still work. That way we can call each other when we arrive".

"Ooooo thank you" Future Lance smiled.

Really he was just excited about getting to play the original snake phone game on the train. 

 

* * *

 

 

Lance was too distracted. He had barely even spoken to Justin since he boarded the plane. Justin didn't like it.

Are you excited about the VMAs? Justin asked gently. He was detirmind to break the silence somehow.

"Yeah, it should be pretty cool, I'm a bit nervous though" Lance replied.

"I know what you mean. We've done 'tearin up my heart' so many times but the VMAs is..different".

"What do you mean? There's only the chance to make fools of ourselves on live television in front of all of our peers and music professionals. Only a BIT more pressure than usual." Lance joked. from the nervousness in his voice it was obvious that behind the sarcasm Lance was very apprahensive.

"Heh, yeah" Justin laughed uncomfortably. "I'm sure we'll be fine though, after all, I think we were pretty good last rehersal" he reassured.

"I hope so" Lance said distractedly as he looked at his lap.

To be honest Lance was much more concerned with how he was going to coordinate stopping the backstreet boys into the VMAs rather than the performance itself.

He kind of wished that he could just tell Justin everything. Justin had always been his shoulder to lean on. It was hard not being able to confide with him about something so big. But, considering his feelings that he had been keeping from him, it's not like keeping secrets from Justin was an entirely new thing.

What followed was an awkward pause that Justin did not like. He struggled to keep the conversation going.

"So I saw your boyfriend on TV.."

"He's..not um.." Lance stuttered trying to respond. because telling Justin that they were just sleeping together didn't seem like a much better alternative.

"He's quite handsome" He commented in an attempt to let Lance know he was cool and accepting like the other guys. Even if he was actually the only one who wasn't cool with this.

"for an older guy, like..if I was into that kind of thing i'd think he was..quite attractive..for an older guy" Justin added very awkwardly.

His attempt to make Lance feel more comfortable to talk to him about future Lance had only made Lance blush.

Lance looked deeply at Justin. It was kind of adorable how much effort he had gone to trying to be a good friend to him since he got a fake older boyfriend. But he had never been more over the lie than he was in that moment

"I uh..I guess" Lance remembered that he was meant to reply.

"You don't think so?" Justin asked confusedly.

Lance sighed "not really."

"Sorry..I just thought-"

"He's not my boyfriend". Lance hesitantly clarified.

"Oh?..Then what is he?" "Actually I'm sorry, that might be none of my business"

"Don't be sorry" Lance smiled slightly at Justin.

The pilot yelled out from the cockpit that there would be some mild turbulence.

There was a silence that followed. Even though Justin tried to be respectful, he didn't like how vague Lance was being.

Justin took a deep breath. "I feel like you don't me tell me about what's going on in your life as much as you used to. Like, whenever anything happened you used to want to talk to me about it in detail, but you haven't really done that in a while."

Lance was taken aback by Justin's bluntness, but he listened as Justin continued.

"And clearly stuff has been going on in your life. I don't know if it's because of your..wow, you know, I don't even know the name of the guy your seeing. Were meant to be best friends and you haven't even told me the name of the guy you're seeing."

"It's Lance" Lance responded. It felt good to say something truthful about it for once.

Justin almost laughed but held it back. "His name is Lance too?".

Lance nodded.

"Were you just embarrassed to tell us you're seeing a guy with the same name as you? Justin hesitated slightly. "Especially since there's a bit of a resemblance between you two".

Lance's eyes widened and he began to fiddle with a small rip at the knee of the jeans that he was wearing. "Oh..you noticed that?".

"Well, to be honest Lance, it's a bit hard to miss. You do have a lot of similarities."

Lance gave Justin a slightly exaggerated offended gasp in response, but it was in a joking way.

"I don't mean that you look old or anything!" Justin stammered putting his hands in front of him defensively.

Lance smirked at the clumsiness of Justin's words. Justin Timberlake feeling awkward had not been a common sight until recently.

Justin examined his older band mates face. His sparkly green eyes, lovable smile. "There are a lot of differences between you guys too. You know, maybe it's just because he's blonde and has really similar eyes." He reasoned as he stared at Lance.

Justin nudged him slightly "don't worry, you still have your youth" he joked. "You're way prettier than him anyway".

Was that weird? Justin felt like that was weird. He didn't know why he said that, it just kind of slipped out.

Well, it's not like he hadn't noticed that Lance was actually a pretty attractive guy. It felt pretty hard not to notice considering how much time they spent together.

"Thanks" Lance smiled shyly.

"And I'm sorry about how I've been a bit distant lately." He looked up at Justin who was watching him attentively. "Believe me, I wish that I didn't have to be" Lance added honestly.

"That's ok..but what is it all about? Is um 'Lance' treating you ok? Justin delicately interrogated.

"He's fine" Lance replied hastily. "It's nothing like that" he had no clue what to say next.

""Wow this turbulence is getting pretty bad" Justin interrupted as the plane rocked.

"Yeah it-"

THUD

"Lance! Are you ok!?" Justin cried as he quickly undid his seatbelt.

Because Lance hadn't been wearing his seatbelt he had been flung forward from his chair.

However, this should mean that he just hit his face on the chair in front of him. But he didn't. He wishes that was all that happened.

Lance's powers had unintentionally activated from the shock and he passed straight through the chair. He was now lying in a painful heap on the floor of the row in front of them.

Justin stood up and ran around to the next row, holding on to the seats as he moved for balance.

"Lance! What the fuck just happened!? Did you really just pass through that chair!?" Justin asked frantically as he helped Lance up.

Lance could feel the shakiness in Justin's strong arms. He felt sorry for him when he saw the absolute bewilderment on his face.

"I can explain" Lance said nervously as they sat back in their seats.

"Is everything alright back there!?" Yelled the pilot from the cockpit.

"Yeah, we're fine!" Replied Lance.

He turned back to Justin who looked like he'd seen a ghost.

Lance knew that he had to tell Justin the truth. This wasn't the kind of thing that he could make an excuse for. He literally saw him pass through a chair.

Would Justin even believe him if he did tell him though?

"So, you were going to explain?" Justin reminded Lance urgently. His eyes were still wide from the shock.

"Yeah, I was" Lance sighed as he ran a hand through his spikey hair with frosted tips.

"Well!?" Justin cried with even more urgency.

"Sorry, sorry!" Lance laughed uncomfortably. "I just don't know where to start..I guess it starts with 'Lance' ".

Justin tilted his head slightly in confusion "What does he have to do with this?"

Lance spent a large portion of the flight explaining the situation to Justin. His future self, the backstreet boys, all of it.

Even though it wasn't meant to happen, a part of Lance felt relieved that he had an excuse to tell Justin. Also, finally, Justin doesn"t think that Lance has a thing for old men anymore.

Justin had the same look of stunned disbelief plastered on his face for most of the time that Lance was explaining. However it began to soften towards the end as he grew more sympathetic to Lances plight.

"well..I guess now I know why you were being distant. I can't believe you let us think you were sleeping with yourself from the future just to cover that up" Justin chuckled.

"Yeah" Lance smiled embarrassedly.

"Chris is going to have to organize a different birthday present for you" Justin decided.

"What? Why?"

"Let's just say there was going to be a giant cake and the dancer that was going to emerge from it was a bit older and hairier than what one would usually expect from a stripper cake."

"Oh my gosh, he wouldn't!" Lance buried his face in his hands. Just the thought of it was embarrassing.

"Hey! I had no part in it" Justin laughed. He felt the need to clarify that.

"You promise?" Lance mumbled as he moved his fingers so that he could peer at Justin with one eye.

"I promise" smiled Justin as he carefully moved Lances hands away from his face. Justin"s hands felt warm and soft.

"To be honest Lance, I'm pretty worried about you" Justin shrugged "I've kind of been worrying about you a lot lately if you hadn't noticed".

"I noticed, it means a lot that you look out for me so much." Lance replied sincerely.

Since telling Justin the truth talking to him felt a lot less awkward. It felt more like how best friends should feel together. Except that he felt like from this whole ordeal his feelings for Justin were even stronger.

If Lance was a girl he would have sworn Justin was flirting with him at times. Whenever this thought came up he'd remind himself that Justin is a friendly guy, it's probably just how he is with people he's comfortable with.

"It's just..you don't even have full control of your powers yet but you're planning on trying to defeat the Backstreet Boys?".

"That's the plan" Lance declared in a confident but sligtly sarcastic voice. He knew just as well as Justin what an awful plan this was.

"I know it's dangerous, but it's not like there is another option. Everybody's relying on me. I don't have time to doubt myself." Lance still spoke confidently but with a slight tremble.

"You're so brave Lance. I've always respected that about you." Justin said sweetly as his sad blue doe eyes gazed into Lance.

"Like how you would actually have the guts to go to space. Or when you told your southern conservative parents that you were gay knowing that they might turn around and disown you. Or when you joined Nsync even though you were the only one who couldn't dance. You didn't give up, you just kept working at it. But.." Justin paused

"even though I respect your courage it also kind of scares me because.." Justin choked and forced the rest what he was trying to say out "I just don't know what I would do if something happened to you." He cast his gaze down.

Lance put his hand on Justin's leg reassuringly. This made Justin feel strange. Good strange.

"Thank you Justin" Lance began, smiling at his friend, such kind words meant twice as much coming from somebody as beautiful and perfect as Justin. "I couldn't imagine what I would do if something happened to you either. You don't have to worry though. I'll be fine" Lance squeezed Justin's leg lightly "I promise you."

"Really?" Justin asked hopefully. He placed his hand on top of Lance's hand on his leg. He intertwined their fingers before lifting his head up to look at him.

Lances heart was thumping through his chest. Was actually this happening? Justin Timberlake, boy of his dreams wanted to hold his hand? Maybe this was still just a thing he does with people he's close to? His face went red.

"Y..yeah really" Lance stadmmered, completely lost in Justins deep blue eyes.

"Hey Lance?" Justin questioned in a much calmer tone than anything that Lance could presently manage.

"Yeah?" Lance swallowed hard.

Justin's voice felt hypnotic.

"Would it be ok if I kissed you?" He murmured, moving slightly closer.

"..Yeah" Lance answered nervously. This was really happening. Justin and his perfect red lips were slowly leaning in closer to him. He closed his eyes.

Their lips met and pressed against each other chastely before they pulled away, their faces still close together. They smiled awkwardly at each other then Justin gently pulled Lance closer again. Signalling him not to stop.

Their lips colided again, less clumsily this time. Then as they started to kiss more deeply ,they undid their seatbelts and pushed up the arm rest that divided them.

Justin's hand started on Lance's waist but traveled all the way up his back. Now that he could get closer to him, Lance ran his fingers through Justin's soft blonde curls and down his body. Lance was terrified and excited and overjoyed all at the same time.

Justin accidentally let out a soft moan, which he felt sort of embarrassed about. But it pleased Lance like nothing he'd heard before. He was amazed that he could have that effect on Justin. It immediately caused his breathing to get much heavier.

Lance pulled away just for a second to see Justin's beautiful face in front of him. His inviting lips were still slightly parted, his face was flushed pink. Justin was gazing back at Lance, almost panting. Lance found it hard not to be in disbelief, staring at his dream boy being that worked up because of him.

"Woah" Justin whispered excitedly as he leaned back in. This time pulling he and Lance's bodies much closer. It felt almost overwhelming being that close to Justin.

Lance inhaled sharply as Justin reached down and ran his his fingers under the hem of his shirt. Then slowly along Lance's hipbones and the delicate skin just above the waistband of his pants. He kissed Justin passionately in return..

Justin moved so that he was kneeling on his seat. He smirked confidently and gently moved Lance so that he was half laying down with his back against the wall and window.

Lance didn't know what Justin was going to do, but he didn't care.

Justin leaned on top of him, kissing him sweetly, then more roughly. At the same time undoing the buttons on Lance's shirt, one by one.

Justin moved down to kissing his neck then slowly down his chest. He lifted his face and forced their lips together, letting his toungue enter Lance's mouth again. Justin let his hand slide down the body of the man laying under him. Feeling each muscle, each delicate curve, before arriving at the waistband of his pants. Lance's kisses became more desperate as Justin teasingly rubbed his palm slowly across the front of his tight pants.

The sound of the cockpit door opening made Justin spring from his position on top of Lance to his seat almost instantaneously. His heart raced. Lance sat up hurriedly, holding his shirt closed and attempting to fix his hair.

The pilot stood in the doorway with his arms folded. He had dark hair that was slicked back into a ponytail under his pilot hat. His facial hair was neatly sculpted into a thin line that travelled from his upper lip, down the sides of his mouth, that settled at his chin. Large sunglasses obscured most of his face, which seemed like an odd thing for a pilot to be wearing.

"Just checking that you guys are alright back here" the pilot snickered.

"We're fine" Lance panted.

He hoped that the pilot hadn't heard them. Especially when he was explaining about future Lance. He had made a point of telling Justin quietly though so he probably didn't.

However they hadn't really made a point of being quiet while they were making out. Lance tried to not worry himself with the idea of the pilot going to the tabloids.

There was a sudden increase in turbulence, Lance and Justin gripped their seats tightly. The pilot who wasn't lucky enough to be sitting down fell sharply into the seats to his side.

His sunglasses flew off his face.

"Are you ok!?" Justin shouted as he carefully stood up holding onto the seat, Lance followed him.

"Yeah, I'm fine!" The pilot said as he swiftly obstructed the view of his face with his hand while searching the floor for his sunglasses. "Don't pay any attention to me".

"Howie?" Lance tilted his head.

The pilots body jolted with shock.

"You're right!" Exclaimed Justin fearfully "That's Howie Dorough!"

Howie slowly stood up, giggling slightly "That's right, sorry guys, looks like you might not be going to the VMAs this time". He informed them in his soft, pleasant voice.

"What are y-"

Before Lance could finish his sentence, Howie had stepped back inside the cockpit and slammed the door behind him. Avoiding the conflict entirely.

Lance frantically pulled the handle but Howie had locked it.

"What are we going to do?" Panicked Justin. "Where could he be taking us?"

"I don't know!" Cried Lance. "I don't know but we'll figure something out, we'll get out of this somehow." He was trembling with adrenaline.

Justin banged on the door to the cockpit, not really knowing what else to do.

It broke Lance's heart to see Justin so vulnerable and afraid. He'd never seen him that way before. It was then that he knew, some way, somehow, he was going to save him.

"Howie! Open the door!" Lance growled.

"I don't have to do anything, pretty boy" Howie joked in response.

"Justin, stand back" Lance instructed and Justin complied.

"I hope this works" he muttered to himself before throwing the weight of his body at the door.

Each time he hit the door he focused even more on himself being in the cockpit. Then finally, his body felt lighter and he passed through it.

"Eeeeeiiiii!" Howie let out a girly scream mockingly "It's Lance Bass!" He raised his hands in fake terror "What ever will I do".

"Where are you taking us Howie!?" Lance demanded.

"Like I said, I don't have to tell you anything, you'll know soon enough anyway." Howie replied calmly, still focusing on his pilot duties. So much so that he barely even glanced at Lance.

"Tell me now!" Lance shouted as he aggressively grabbed Howie by the shoulders.

"Or else what? In case you haven't noticed, I'm the only one Here who knows how to fly a plane".

Lance loosened his grip on Howie.

"That's right" Howie chuckled. "So unless you have some alternative way to land this plane I suggest that you sit down."

"Uh, I kinda meant back in your seat" Howie added as Lance sat himself down in the chair next to him.

"I sort of prefer here, actually" Lance said stubbornly as he slumped down to make himself comfortable.

Howie sighed "Whatever, suit yourself".

"So, how was germany? I saw that you guys toured there recently. I miss Europe, haven't been there in a while".

"Do you really have to make small talk with me Lance? What exactly are you up to?" Howie asked, raising an eyebrow in suspicion.

"I'm not up to anything" Lance snapped indignantly "Just you know, since your kinda kidnapping me and all I thought it might be more tolerable if we got to know each other a bit. Seeing as we're going to be spending some time together".

"You're odd" Howie stated blankly.

Lance persisted "That may be so, but it means I'm even more fun to talk to. So, how was germany?".

Howie groaned frustratedly.

"Oh right, like flying this plane all alone with no company was that great" Lance teased.

Howie sighed again. "Germany was ok, I guess".

"Thank you! See Howie? We're having fun already" Lance joked. He saw what almost looked like a smile start to form on Howie's face, however it swiftly returned to its former tired apathy.

Lance tapped his hand energetically on his thigh through the awkward silence that followed.

"So...when did you learn how to fly a plane? That's a pretty cool thing to know how to do."

Howie was silent so Lance kept rambling. "I wanted to learn how to go to space, which is kinda almost similar.."

"How is that similar?" Howie mocked.

"Well you know, their both sky stuff".

"I guess..".

"You know, it's funny how in both of our bands we have the reputation of the quiet one" Lance commented.

"You aren't living up to that reputation very well."

"That's because I'm not actually the quiet one. The sensible one maybe, but not the quiet one. Whereas you, i dont know, you seem different to the other Backstreet Boys. Just a vibe i get. Like under it all maybe you're a bit softer and gentler than your whole villan act makes you out to be" speculated Lance.

"Pfffft" Howie laughed "riiiiiight".

"Howie come in Howie" a blurry voice said from the radio.

Howie pressed a button then replied "Hey AJ, what's up, before you say anything, I should let you know I've got Lance Bass sitting next to me."

"WHAT!?" AJ shouted "What is he doing in the cockpit!?"

"I..I didn't have any choice, my sunglasses fell off and..he..he can move through walls" Howie's voice trembled slightly.

"You couldn't even manage a better disguise than just sunglasses!? And you just let them fall off in front of Lance Bass and Justin Timberlake!?"

"Well I.."

"Wow! You really are just as useless as Kevin says you are!"

"That's not-"

"Are you almost there yet idiot?"

"Yes, we'll be landing shortly".

"Ok, you better not screw this up this time. Bye Howie."

"Bye."

After AJ hung up Howie couldn't help but notice Lances bright eyes glued to him. "What!?" He snapped.

"You let them talk down to you like that?" Howie didn't respond. "Telling you that you're useless?"

"Shut up Lance! Its none of your business."

"Ok.." Lance said carefully. "But my band mates would never speaks to me like that."

"Were like brothers, it's just how they are" Howie said defensively.

"Maybe..but the guys from Nsync are like brothers to me too."

Lance stood up from his chair and briefly rested his hand on the top of Howie's chair.

"And they would still never speak to me like that".

Howie frowned.

Lance noticed the plane beggining to descend.

"Speaking of, I guess if you're landing this plane I may as well go sit with Justin and stop distracting you".

"Yes, good!" Howie waved his hand dismissively.

Lance tested his hand on the wall. It went through smoothly so the rest of his body followed.

"Lance!" Justin said excitedly as he lifted his head from where it was leaned against the door. He had managed to hear most of the conversation.

"Sorry that took a while" Lance apologized. "The plane is going to be landing in a minute so we should probably sit down.".

"That's it?" Justin said bitterly as they made their way to their seats.

"What do you mean?" Lance asked.

"Well, you were in there for ages and it seems like all you did was make small talk!" Justin replied annoyedly.

"I couldnt exactly take him out, unless you know how to land a plane!" Lance debated.

"I guess your right." Justin sighed dissapointedly. He kind of knew there wasn't much that Lance could do. Yet, he'd been hoping for more than that. You know, considering how he had freaky moon powers. He didn't want to accept that they were basically at the Backstreet Boys mercy on a plane to who knows where.

"At the very least i figured he might treat us a bit better if he knew us as people a little. I can't explain it, theres something about Howie. He seems like he would have more of a conscience than the other Backstreet Boys".

"Boy, I'm glad I'm getting kidnapped by Howie then." Justin remarked sarcastically.

Lance elbowed Justin playfully in response.

They didn't talk much as the plane landed. They were both overwhelmed with fear and for the other ones sake they both tried to remain strong and not let it show.

"We hope that you have enjoyed your flight, please exit in an orderly fashion" Howie joked as he went to open the door. Lance and Justin gulped and walked towards it.

As the door swung open two intimidating men rushed the plane. One was square jawed with blonde hair and the other was covered in tattoos and wore round sunglasses.

Before they had time to do anything about it these men had Lance and Justin restrained. They put them in handcuffs then led them off the plane.

"AJ, Brian, is the cell ready?" Howie asked the two men.

"Yes, some of us know how to do our job properly" mocked AJ as they walked the handcuffed men to an unmarked Grey building.

Around him Lance saw palm trees and could hear the ocean in the distance. It was impossible to determine where he was though. From the plane he saw that it was an island, but thats all that he knew. The property they were on was so large that it was hard to tell if there was anything much beyond it.

An abrasively loud seagull flew over them as they reached the door. It made AJ grimace.

"Get inside!" AJ ordered as he and Brian pushed their detainee's inside. They stumble but luckily don"t fall over. Howie entered last and slammed the heavy steel door behind them. The sound sent shivers through Lance and Justin.

They were led to a cell about the size of small truck. It had nothing in it but concrete and a bench.

As they were pushed into the cell Brian said something that made any residual hope leave the eyes of Lance and Justin. "Heh, and Lancey, you can try to get through these walls all you want. They are made of a special metal from Astoria. It will counteract any powers that you may have".

Lance punched his fist against the wall as the three Backstreet Boys walked away laughing.

"Hey, it's gonna be alright Lance, we'll figure something out" Justin didn't even sound like he beleived that.

"I hope so" Lance muttered as he examined his bruised fist with a frown. "I'm so sorry that you got dragged into this Justin. I should have known that I was putting people around me in danger. I should have travelled alone."

Lance felt warm hands cup his fist gently "it's not your fault" Justin reassured. "Besides, I wouldn't want you to have to go through this alone".

"Wow Justin, and you say that I'm brave".

Justin looked down bashfully and let Lance put an arm around him. "Thank you" Lance added.

Justin smiled then stood up to evaluate the cell. He rattled the door and examined the lock closely. There wasn't much to evaluate, really.

"Well, I can't find a way out" Justin sighed as he sat back down on the bench."

"I don't think its going to be that simple" Lance replied, knowing that Justin was aware of this. "We might just have to wait it out a bit. Maybe I'll get another chance to talk to Howie."

"I don't see why Howie would care about us, he's kinda the reason were here in the first place. In case youve forgotten." Justin argued.

"Yeah.." Lance couldn"t explain his hunch about Howie. It just felt like he wasn't as evil as the rest. But maybe he was just being fooled by his soft delicate way of speaking. It made him feel a whole lot more safe than AJ's tone did.

"Well, if we're gonna be in backstreet boys jail we may as well get comfortable" remarked Justin as he removed the baggy white sweatshirt that he had been wearing and placed it behind him as a pillow. He was wearing a black tank top underneath. "Come here" smiled Justin as he reached his arms out. Beckoning Lance to join him.

Lance felt so warm and safe in Justin's arms, as safe as the situation would permit him to feel anyway. He had wanted to know what it felt like to be held by him for so long. It was just like he'd imagined but better.

His dream boy Justin actually wanting him would under normal circumstances make him a giddy nervous mess. However these were no normal circumstances. Somehow being surrounded by the drama of the Backstreet Boys made it easier to simply relax into Justin's embrace and not question it. Just happily accept it for what it is.

Justin brushed his cheek against Lances. "I'd been wondering what it would be like to kiss you for a while" Justin murmured timidly.

"Really?" Lances eyes widened with genuine surprise.

"Well, yeah." Justin said embarassedly. This was pretty new territory for him.

"I didn't even know that you weren't straight"

"Nobody does. Even I didn't until a while ago." Justin hesitated "when i started noticing how cute you were" he said the second part very softly.

"I am not cute" Lance retorted modestly, yet a big smile spread over his face.

"Yes you are" Justin whispered as he kissed Lances cheek. "I was really confused when I just kept thinking about you. I'd never felt that way about one of my friends before." He explained.

Justin snuggled in closer "It was confusing because i'd thought that i had a crush on Britney"

"I think everybody else thought you did too" added Lance, remembering just how jealous of britney he had been.

Yeah" Justin paused "even though I thought about her, I thought about you more. My feelings for you felt kinda stronger, but I thought maybe that was just because you're my best friend. I hadn't felt this way before so I didn"t know. I started to get frustrated with myself that I didn't know. I felt like kissing you was the only way I'd know how I felt".

"I had no idea".

"I really like you Lance" Justin confessed as his deep blue eyes gazed into Lance.

Lances heart raced "I really like you too" he replied as he linked his fingers through justins. At this point he didn't care that he was trapped in a cell on a mysterious island. Everything was perfect.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey Howie, go get us something to eat would ya?" Ordered Brian. He reclined on a large leather L shaped couch with AJ. They were both stretched out, taking up as much space as possible. Howie stood up from his tiny spot right at the edge of the couch, next to Brian"s feet.

"Yeah, sure guys" Howie said kindly. They were in somewhat of a 'prison staff room'. It was a comfortable open plan room with a small kitchen at one end and a lounge area at the other. The floors and the walls were made of metal and it had a futuristic look to it.

AJ and Brian Laughed brutishly at the TV while Howie prepared food for all of them. He made a fairly basic pasta dish. He used the premade sauce but it still took him a while.

"Ok guys, it's ready" Howie announced after serving it up.

"Great! Thanks Howie" Brian said as they both bounced off the couch and over to the bench.

Howie went to reach for the salt grinder but AJ swiftly grabbed it instead. "Ladies first" AJ joked in a fake girly voice.

Howie snatched it as AJ finished with it. With the first turn of the grinder the top burst off and large chunks of salt were all over Howie's meal. AJ and Brian were roaring with laughter. AJ had discreetly unsrewed the top when he was using it before.

"You guys are bastards" Howie said seriously while they continued to laugh.

AJ stopped for a moment, his eyes watering from how much he was laughing. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's just, it was really really funny" He slapped Howie firmly on the back as he burst out laughing again. He and AJ picked up their plates and began walking back to the couch.

Howie defeatedly looked down at the pile of salt on his plate before scraping his whole meal into the bin. He then joined them in front of the TV.

Howie noticed a peice of paper covered in messy writing on the low table in front of him. "Who's is this?" He asked curiously as he picked it up.

"Mine, I was writing a song. It's not finished yet though" Replied Brian as Howie began to read.

_Baby, please try to forgive me_

_Stay here don't put out the glow_

_Hold me now don't bother if every minute it makes me weaker_   
_You can save me from the man that I've become, oh yeah_

_Lookin' back on the things I've done_   
_I was tryin' to be someone_   
_I played my part, kept you in the dark_

_Now let me show you the shape of my heart_

_I'm here with my confession_   
_Got nothing to hide no more_   
_I don't know where to start_

_But to show you the shape of my heart_

"Shape of my heart? Does that mean it's about-"

"You betcha" interrupted Brian as he knocked on his chest a few times with his fist. These knocks were accompanied by the sound of clanging metal.

 

* * *

 

 

The sun went down and Howie strolled the halls of the prison. It was full of empty cells. It seemed a bit like overkill having this giant complex and only needing to house two prisoners. However, the building created a harrowing image of what their plans for the future may entail.

"Psst hey, Howie" Lance whispered loudly.

"What is it Lance?" Howie replied unenthusiastically.

"Uh, nothing much-"

"Ok then" Howie hastily responded and turned to keep walking.

"Wait, wait!" Lance loudly whispered again.

"What?" Howie sighed as he turned back to Lance.

"You having a bad day?" Lance said in an attempt to sympathize.

"No.." He lied.

But why would he tell Lance Bass of all people? Dealing with AJ and Brian was 'challenging' to say the least. But that wasn't any of Lance's business. "I'm not going to be convinced to let you out. You know that right?".

"I know that" Lance said as he smiled and flicked his hand. "I just wanna talk, Justin's all asleep, I'm wide awake. Believe it or not, it actually can get pretty boring here."

"I'm sure it would" Howie spoke that sentence with the vocal equivilant of a pokerface, with his hands behind his back. This Confused Lance about whether or not Howie was sympathizing with him.

"Do AJ and Brian usually act like bullies like that?" Lance inquired.

Howie frowned "That's none of your business, how do you even know that? You weren't there." He dissmissed as he slowly began to walk away.

"I..I overheard them laughing at you. Every time there was loud laughter it was only AJ and Brian" Lance stammered as he walked along to follow Howie as far as his cell would allow. Which wasn't much.

"You don't know what you're talking about" Muttered Howie.

"You don't have to be treated like that Howie!" Lance called out as Howie disappeared around the corner.

"That Lance doesn't know anything" Howie mumbled as he walked back to the staff room. He felt a twinge of jealousy at how much respect the other members of nsync treated Lance with. Unlike Howie, the old punching bag. The lowly servant. But they were his brothers all the same.

"Wow I remember that one" Howie commented as he entered the room. AJ and Brian were watching one of their old concerts on the TV.

"Yeah, look at all those morons cheering for us" Brian remarked as the TV showed a view of the crowd. "Pathetic" he laughed as he saw a close up of an emotional, crying fan.

"Hey, that's not very nice" Howie remarked.

"Hey that's not very niiiice" AJ imitated in an annoying tone.

"I don't even sound like that" snapped Howie frustratedly while his band mates laughed at his expense.

"Don't tell me you actually like those ignorant fools?" Brian interrogated.

"Well..I.." Howie stuttered. "I guess I just..sorta think it's neat that they care about us so much y'know?"

"You better not be going soft on us Howie" demanded AJ. "The fans are mere pawns to help us get what we need, it's all a part of Kevin's plan, remember that".

"I know, I know" Howie nodded as he shamefully looked at the floor. "But, maybe, couldn't it kinda be both ways? Like still appreciating what we mean to our fans..while they help us to reach our goal?".

"Who's side are you on? Brian said in disbelief as he turned his whole body to face Howie from the couch. "No, it can't be both ways. You have to pick a side, take a stand. And the backstreet boys side has no room for mercy."

"Right" Howie conceded unhappily.

 

* * *

 

 

It was around 11pm and Lance was finally starting to get tired. The prison had an almost peaceful feel to it at this time. It had gone relatively silent a little while ago and shadows draped the cell. Justin had been asleep for hours. Except for when he breifly stirred to rest his head in Lance's lap. Lance still couldn't believe how lucky he was as he gazed down at him. Running his fingers gently through the mess of soft curls.

The sound of footsteps approached down the dark hallway. Justin blinked his eyes open as it echoed off the concrete.

"Be completely quiet" a familiar voice ordered as it's footsteps arrived at the cell.

"Howie?" Justin asked blearily as he wiped his eyes.

"Shhhhh" Howie hushed as he pulled a ring of keys out of his pocket.

Lance and Justin obeyed as he unlocked the door. Then Howie wordlessly beckoned them to follow.

They followed him past a row of cells and into a small room. Howie shut the door behind them.

"What are you doing?" Asked Lance confusedly.

"Helping you escape, what does it look like?"

"But why?" Questioned a shocked Justin.

"You could say I'm picking a side..taking a stand." Howie began. "This is for my fans sake, you need to stop the rest of the Backstreet Boys for me Lance".

I"ll..do my best Howie, thank you." Lance said sincerely as he went to shake Howie's hand.

When Howie went to grasp Lance's hand it pulled back for a second.

"You're definitely not just tricking us right?" Lance confirmed suspiciously.

"Honest" Howie reassured as he grabbed Lances hand and shook it. He then extended his hand out to Justin, who looked away, hesitating then returning the hand shake.

"Where are AJ and Brian?" Asked Justin.

"They are taking care of something on the south side of the island. There is a ship that will transport you off the island not too far from here, it comes at 11:30".

"Great, where is it?" Inquired Lance.

"I'll point you guys in the right direction but first" He took a deep breath "There's something that you need to know about Brian".

"What about him?" Lance asked.

"You would remember back in 98 when he took some time off touring to have heart surgery right?"

"Yeah" they both nodded.

"Well, it wasn't exactly what it seemed. It wasn't so much a surgery as an..upgrade".

"What are you talking about Howie?" Lance demanded as he put his hands on his hips.

"His human heart, he had it replaced with a robotic heart by Astorian doctors. There is a metal panel on his chest that he can control it with. When activated it has the power to make around 90% of those who are exposed to it fall in love with us."

"But 90% of your fans are already in love with you guys" Justin smirked.

"This is different. It is a form of mind control. He is planning on using it for the first time at the VMAs. The beating of the heart broadcasts the control waves. Almost the entire audience would be effected, as well as most of the nominees. Not only that, but it would even extend to people watching from home on their TV. 90% of people who hear the song that is performed with the control waves would be completely at their mercy. After that, they will literally do anything that we wanted them to" Howie explained.

He paused before also responding to Justin's initial question too. "But yes, the fact that so many of our fans are already in love with us helps to disguise what we are doing, so most people wouldn't even notice the change.

"That's awful! But how could I possibly stop that?" Lance exclaimed.

"You have to interrupt the signal somehow. The waves from Brian's heart magnify what the audience feels in their heart at the time. So when the signal is combined with our music the fans feelings towards us are amplified into an unhealthy love that knows no limit" Howie explained.

"But how are we meant to interrupt the signal?" Asked Justin as he watched Howie unlock the heavy steel door that lead outside.

Lance was slightly surprised by Justin using the word we. He hadn't expected any help with the Backstreet Boys. Aside from future Lance, that is.

"I honestly don't know" Howie replied while he carefully opened the door. He motioned for Lance and Justin to stay back while he peered around the corner. Brian and AJ were nowhere to be seen. He then added "But for my fans sake I really hope you can figure it out" his soft brown eyes met Lance's and he smiled sincerely "we're counting on you".

Lance returned the smile "We'll do our best".

Lance and Justin stepped outside while Howie remained in the doorway.

"See that line of over there?" Howie pointed into the distance.

"Yeah" they both nodded.

"Follow then until you see a second grey building. When you see a steel fence turn right. Then keep walking. When you see water you'll know you're not very far. You'll have to hurry though. There is only one ferry. Also, take this." Howie reached into his jacket pocket and handed a laminated card to Lance. "If you show that to the ferry driver they won't ask any questions".

"Thank you so much Howie..but there is one thing that I don't get" Justin began. "If you want the other Backstreet Boys to be stopped then why do you need Lance to do it? Wouldn't it be easier for you to just get them to not perform? Or you know, something like that."

"I wish it were that simple. There is a lot that you don't know. I'm already overstepping as it is. If Kevin found out I don't even want to imagine what would happen to me."

"That's ok. We appreciate your help anyway. We should make sure we don't miss that ferry though" Lance replied.

"Ok, make sure you keep an eye out for Brian and AJ. If they catch you again, I won't be able to help you".

"We will" Lance reassured as they turned to walk away "Bye Howie, see you at the VMAs".

"Bye..and good luck" Howie said solemnly. He tip toed back inside and nervously locked the door. He was not looking forward to Brian and AJ's return.

Making their way off the island was easily one of the most exhilarating things that Justin and Lance had done. Even more so than performing in front of thousands of fans. The flood of new feelings that they had towards each other only ehanced this mood. It was almost like they were having fun, at the same time as being terrified. Kind of like if they watched a funny horror movie together.

Lance and Justin made each other giggle at their situation as they anxiously power walked. They kept looking back over their shoulders. Luckily for them AJ and Brian didn't make and appearance.

"Hey! There's the ferry!" Justin exclaimed. He grabbed Lances hand and they began to run.

They arrived at the dock just as the ferry approached. The attendant threw a hoop of rope over a pole at the dock to secure the ship while they pulled down a small platform to walk over.

Lance and Justin looked at each other. They silently approached the attendant.

He was a intimidating figure. His clothes were weathered and there was not one glint of cheer in his dull grey-blue eyes. Unkempt dark hair framed his stoic face. He grabbed the laminated card from Lance's shaking hand.

"Hmmmm" the attendant examined it. Lance and Justin felt like their hearts stopped as he eyed them suspiciously with a raised eyebrow.

Justin's knees trembled as he awaited a response. This was literally their only ticket off the island.

"Very well" he said monotonely as lifted the gate and allowed them onto the ferry.

As they walked down the aisle they were surprised to see that it was totally empty. It was a very large boat with many rows of seats. So you would expect there to be at least a few other passengers. It made them feel uneasy.

"Let's sit over here" suggested Lance as he motioned Justin toward the back corner, next to a window.

It was a very uncomfortable ferry ride. The attendant just sort of stood around. Looking at them just a little bit more than was generally considered appropriate. They tried to ignore it by staring out the window.

They still couldn't tell where they were.

Then finally after some time, the attendant left. Lance sighed with relief.

"What an odd guy" Justin commented quietly.

"I know, I'm so glad he's gone" Lance was also careful to not be heard.

"It occurred to me, we didn't even ask Howie where we are meant to get off." Justin stated worriedly.

"Yeah.. I guess we'll just get off whenever it stops somewhere we recognize, then make our way to from there" Lance replied.

"Alright, hopefully there is somewhere we recognize" Justin said unsettledly.

"Well Howie wouldn"t have sent us here if it wouldn't get us to the VMAs" Lance reassured. "I hope that Howie's ok..".

"Yeah" Justin said sadly. "Howie probably knows what he's doing though. He wouldn't have set us free if he didn't have an excuse to tell Brian and AJ."

"I hope you're right" Lance mumbled as he glanced out the window.

There was an announcement over the intercom "Next stop Virginia".

"Well, I guess that's our stop" Lance sighed.

They watched the boat pull up at a deserted terminal. The gates were rusted over and it was obvious that this was the only boat that would still stop here. The attendant swung down the walking platform then Lance and Justin silently filed off of the ferry.

"That was pretty spooky" Justin laughed as the ferry pulled away.

"Let's promise to never be kidnapped again" Lance joked as they walked out of the terminal onto a dimly lit pebbled road.

"How are we going to get to New York tommorrow? Should we order a driver or something?" Justin suggested tiredly while stretching his arms.

"I'd like to..but while we were on the boat I was thinking, how did Howie even know which plane to hijack? It seems a little odd. I might be wrong but I think the backstreet boys could have had our phones tapped."

Lance stopped to yawn then continued "I hate the idea of us ordering a driver and being taken to some other prison."

"That's fair enough" Justin sighed as the ground that they walked upon became more steep.

They had been surrounded by an eerie silence, only filled by the crunch of the pebbles under their feet and the soft howl of the wind. Even though the night air was freezing they were both sweating from how much they had walked.

"I wish I'd worn different pants" Justin pouted.

Lance giggled breathlessly as they walked up a hill. He knew all too well the painful combination of heat, sweat and tight vinyl pants. As any boybander would.

Justin and Lance turned to each other with wide eyes as they heard a hopeful noise from the top of the hill.

"Hey! Was that a car? Maybe there's something up there!" Justin declared excitedly as he ran the rest of the way up. Lance followed exhaustedly.

His shoulders slumped with dissapointment as he reached Justin at the top.

"I was kind of hoping for at least a service station or something. Something with people we could ask where we were..I guess that was me being too wishful" commented Lance at the empty road in front of them. The street lights were rare and as far into the distance as they could see, there was just more road.

"I have an idea!" said Justin energetically. Maybe the run woke him up. It just made Lance more tired.

"What is it?" Lance asked unenthusiastically.

As a truck approached in the distance Justin stood confidently in front of Lance at the edge of the road. He reached out his arm and put his thumb out.

"Really!? Hitch hiking!?" Lance frowned and grabbed Justin as the truck zoomed past them.

"Have you got a better idea?" Justin argued.

He really didn't.

"But what if we get picked up by some murderer?" Lances voice trembled slightly.

"It's a risk we might have to take. Like, who knows what might happen to us if we end up back with the backstreet boys. I don't know about you, but I don"t want to just wait around for AJ and Brian to find us. Howie put himself on the line to set us free. We owe it to him to make it to the VMAs".

"You're right" Lance sighed. He reluctantly stuck his thumb out with Justin as another car went by.

"Besides, it's not like we have far to go. They just have to get us to the nearest city or somewhere we're able to get a train. We could pick up some disguises and catch the train to new York undercover" Justin suggested.

"Oo can I be your modest yet stylish wife? I'll wear a fascinator-veil thing to cover my face. In fact! We should both dress like we've come from a funeral, then nobody will ask us questions." Lance joked excitedly. Being with Justin made this whole mess feel like a big adventure.

"Yes! I'm sure you'd be the prettiest girl on the train" Justin remarked enthusiastically as he put his hand around Lance's waist. Lance laughed as he pushed it off dismissively.

"And I'll be a grieving businessman. Half my face will have a bandage over it, because I was with him at the time of the..accident". Justin faked choking up as he said the last part.

"Car" Lance interrupted. They both put their thumbs back out.

They both frowned as it went past them like the others. However it began to slow down and stopped slightly up the road.

"Come on!" Justin grabbed Lance's arm and they ran towards the car. Lance wished that it had stopped nearer to a street light.

As they approached the window wound down to reveal a young woman with her auburn hair tied into two buns and a nose piercing. It was so dark that it was hard to make out the details of her face. As they peered inside they could also see a teenage girl in the passengers seat who was pressing buttons on the CD player repeatedly. Trying to find the song that she wanted.

"Hey" Justin tried to come off confident but Lance knew him well enough to tell how ueasy he was. "What way are you two going?"

"We're on our way to Delaware, where do you boys have to get too?" The woman asked in between chewing her strawberry bubblegum. It was so strong that it made the sweet smell of artificial berries linger in the wind.

As he went to answer he was distracted by the indecisive passenger who had barely even looked at them. She had settled on a song and it was familiar to both of them. It was 'I need love' a lesser known song from their first album. This made Lance smile, but also feel slightly embarrassed.

"Uh..we don't really know where we are to be honest with you. We're trying to get to the nearest city, somewhere we could get a train to new York".

"We could help you with that.. I just have to check though, you're not murderers are you?" She eyed them suspiciously.

"No no, really, we're really just lost" Justin reassured.

"Ok then, get in" she smiled.

The car light turned on automatically as they opened the door. It hurt their eyes slightly.

"OH MY GOSH!"

The auburn haired woman's shreik startled both of them. Even making justin hit his head on the roof as he climbed across the back seat.

"Y-you Justi..L..LanceWHAT!? Ohmygoshohmygosh!" She was hyperventilating. Now they could see each other properly. She was turned around in her seat staring at them in disbelief, wearing an Nsync crop top with a hot pink skirt.

"WHAT!?" The younger girl exclaimed as she turned around and almost instantaneously had the same facial expression as the other woman. She had very short hair that was bleached white and thick winged eyeliner.

"Hey girls" Lance said politely and waved at them.

They squealed and grabbed each others hands. "Wow! His voice is even cuter in person!" The younger girl exclaimed. She then removed her hand from the other woman's and extended it for a handshake. "I'm Amy by the way".

"It's nice to meet you Amy" They both said as they shook her hand.

She turned back to the other woman with a smile that couldn't be bigger "I touched Justin Timberlake and Lance Bass's hands! Oh my gosh!".

"I'm Phoebe, I'm like, your biggest fan" the older woman informed them as she also reached her hand back.

"As if!" Declared Amy as she elbowed her.

"Ok! Ok! We are" Pheobe laughed.

"It's great to meet such big fans, you're really saving us, thank you" Lance said appreciatively while still holding her hand.

Her face went bright red and she turned back to the steering wheel. D-don't even mention it. It's an honor to help you guys" Pheobe stuttered.

"Still, thank you" Justin added sincerely.

The ride to the city was actually lots of fun. Amy and Pheobe eagerly asked them all sorts of questions. Not the same tired old questioned they would get in interviews. When asked how they got lost Justin made up some story about the tour bus breaking down and their driver having a tantrum and storming off.

They got to know Amy and Pheobe too, which was nice. It turned out that Amy was actually 18 and Pheobe was 19. Amy looked so much younger because of how short she was and her baby face. They were driving to Delaware to Visit Amy's brother who had moved out there for work.

Nsync's CD played through and at a few song Amy and Pheobe begged them to sing along with them. Lance and Justin obliged. They got pretty into 'I want you back'. There were smiles all around.

Eventually, when the conversation had wound down and everybody was a bit more tired 'I need love' played again. Amy was beginning to dose off and Pheobe was cradling an energy drink.

_I need love, you need love_

_We all really need love_   
_All I want, all I need_   
_We all really need love_

_I just wanna tell you how I feel_   
_I just wanna have a love that's real_   
_How can I stop this burning desire_   
_I can see that you're the one for me_   
_You're the only one I really need_   
_I need a love that burns like a fire_

Lance and Justin smiled at each other. Justin discreetly moved his hand closer to Lances so he could touch it with his pinky. It wasn't the same as being able to hold hands but it would do.

_All I wanna do is give it a chance_   
_Everybody needs a true romance_   
_I would give anything to be with you_   
_I will give you all the love you need_   
_If you only give your love to me_   
_What would I do if I were without you_

After some time, Justin and Amy fell asleep.

"Hey Pheobe, I'm really sorry but I'm so tired, would it be ok if I slept for a bit and you let me know when we arrive?" Lance asked.

Pheobe glanced over her shoulder, noticing the exhaustion on his face. "Sure Lance, don't worry about it".

"Thank you" Lance snuggled into the corner and went to sleep.

 

* * *

 

 

Lance blinked his eyes open. He abruptly sat up after realizing that he was leaning against Justin.

"Want a wrap?" Asked Amy.

"W-what?" Lance rubbed his tired eyes. It was light outside.

"I got you a salad wrap with cheese" she explained while reaching it back to Lance.

"They're good" added Justin with his mouth full. Lance looked to his side and saw him eating the same thing.

"Sure..thank you" He began to eat. "Where are we?"

"Pheobe was really nice and decided to take us to new York instead of us having to take the train. When I woke up we were already passed Delaware" explained Justin.

"Really?" Lance exclaimed.

"Yeah, I just didn't feel good about you two having to get the train when I could just drive you myself." Pheobe explained energetically. She was chewing her gum much faster than before. "I'd do anything for you guys. Hey, want some gum?" She reached the packet back.

"No thanks.. I'm eating" Lance replied. He noticed the huge collection of empty energy drink cans next to Pheobe. "I don't know what to say, thank you so much".

"Hey, anything for Nsync". They had stopped at a red light and Pheobe turned back to them with a serious face "You're my group, I'd go to war for you if I had to".

"Pheobe!" Amy cried, pointing at the car in front of her that had started moving.

"Oops, sorry" Pheobe laughed and turned back to face the road. Lance and Justin Laughed slightly.

"Wow, I must have been asleep for a while" Lance commented as they went past a billboard that said "New jersey's best hairdressers" in huge letters.

"We could tell you guys needed the rest" said Pheobe maternally.

"Especially if you're performing at the VMAs" Amy contributed.

The performing part was the least of their worries.

Eventually they arrived at New York city. When it was time to say goodbye Lance and Justin gave Pheobe and Amy a big hug each and thanked them again. Those girls would never know just how much they had saved them. Justin wrote down the girls addresses so that he could send them free tickets the next time nsync played a concert in their city.

They looked almost tearful as Lance and Justin turned to walk away.

They had asked Pheobe to drop them outside a relatively uncrowded souvineer store that they spotted. Getting some sort of disguise quickly was their best chance of avoiding getting mobbed by fans.

They grabbed two pairs of blue tinted sunglasses and two bucket hats that were patterned with pictures of the cities landmarks. They also picked up a map so that they could find their way to the empire hotel .

Lance and Justin had been to new york plenty of times but it was different without a driver. Luckily the shopkeeper was an older man who didn't seem to recognize them. It wasn't their best disguise but it was ok.

"We were supposed to be at the hotel with the rest of the guys yesterday. They're probably worried". Lance remembered.

"Yeah, we should probably let them know we're ok..my phone ran out of battery while we were in Virginia, does yours have any left?" Justin asked as they looked for the hotel on the map.

"I'll check" Lance replied while pulling a brick-like Nokia from his pocket. He grimaced at the 50 missed calls from future Lance. "I should let future Lance know that I'm ok too" He sighed.

"Maybe wait until we get to the hotel, you won't be able to tell him much if we're in public" Justin suggested.

"You're right, what will we tell the guys though?".

"Hmmmm" Justin pondered with his face buried in the map.

Lance had had to stop him from walking into people a few times while Justin figured out how to find the hotel. The streets were so crowded. The clumsy fold out map almost acted like a shield from people recognizing them. By somewhat covering their faces and by it making people dismiss them as 'just tourists'.

They actually hadn't come up with an excuse to tell the guys by the time they arrived at thethe empire hotel.

"Maybe we ran into somebody at the airport who invited us to a party" Justin suggested.

"Before the VMAs? That makes us seem pretty irresponsible" Lance argued as they walked into the lobby.

"We're allowed to be irresponsible sometimes" Justin smirked. "The others do stuff like that ocasionally".

They approached reception.

"Not before the VMAs though" Lance reminded him.

Justin shrugged "Well, i'm out ideas".

They apologized to the receptionist for not notifying them of their hold up and were led to their rooms.

As usual nsync had rented out the whole level so that they could have some privacy. They removed their sunglasses and hats when they arrived.

As the hotel employee said goodbye and stepped back into the lift, a familiar face poked out of one of the rooms.

"Lance!? Justin!? There you are!" He leaped out of his room to hug them both.

"Hey JC" Justin smiled as he returned the hug.

"Sorry if we worried you" Lance added when it was his turn.

"I was pretty worried. Chris and Joey kept mocking me for it. They thought I was overreacting. But.." He released Lance from his embrace then lightly punched both of them in the arm "don't ever make me worry like that again!"

"We won't" Lance laughed.

"Where are Chris and Joey?" Asked Justin.

"They went to check stuff out around the city..while I waited back to see if you two got here ok. So more importantly, where were you guys?" JC's face still looked gentle and kind like usual but he folded his arms sternly.

Lance and Justin looked at each other anxiously.

"W-we uh" Justin began.

"We got invited to a party" Lance interrupted.

"A party?" JC raised his eyebrow at Lance. Justin wanted to do the same.

"Yeah, we ran into TLC at the airport and they invited us to a party at their hotel" Lance explained. "Sorry we didn't let you know, it was sort of an of an of the moment deal".

"Well you could have at least called" JC sighed. "I tried to call both of you a lot".

"I forgot my phone charger and Lance, well after a few drinks he forgets he has a phone" Justin laughed.

JC didn't laugh with him. "Well I'm glad that you two are ok, but you have to let us know if you do stuff like that" he stated sternly.

"We will" Lance and Justin muttered with their eyes down at the floor like sad puppy dogs.

"Ok then" JC nodded and uncrossed his arms. "And I won't tell Joey and Chris about your 'teenage rebellion' " he said the last bit somewhat mockingly. "They'd just get angry and it seems you've learnt your lesson".

"We have" agreed Justin sweetly.

"I'll just tell them that Tionne Tboz Watkins was sad because her cousin was in hospital so you went back to where where TLC was staying to comfort her and your phones ran out of battery.. Haha, or you know, something like that. Anyway, i should call them and you guys should get settled into your rooms" JC said.

"Thanks lots" Lance said as JC went back to his room and shut the door.

"Why didn't I come up with that story?" Lance joked.

"Clearly you decided that mine was adequate" Justin smirked as they shut the door to Lance's room behind them.


	5. Chapter 5

"I might go have a shower while you tell future you what happened" decided Justin as he peered into the luxurious hotel bathroom.

"Ok sure" Lance replied as he sat down on the bed and began looking through his phone for Future Lances number. He took a deep breath as he dialed it into the hotel phone.

Future Lance answered after less than one ring "LANCE! Are you ok!?" He yelled. He sounded like an overprotective mother.

"I'm ok, we had some trouble with the backstreet boys, well, Brian and AJ" Lance explained.

"Are they gone!? Where are you?"

"Howie hijacked our plane and they had us trapped on some island but Howie set us free so now we're at the emprire hotel".

"You have no idea how releived I am that you're here! I've got a room there too. I'm not there right now though, i was out looking for you. I'll walk back, I'll be under 20 minutes".

"Ok sure, tell reception I sent you and the code is Alpaca, they'll send you to my room".

"See ya".

Lance hung up the phone and froze. Justin walked out with wet hair and a towel draped around his hips. He had seen him with a similar lack of clothes before. However it felt different when he knew that he was allowed to want him. Allowed to touch him.

"So what did future you have to say?" His tone was light hearted and he stood before Lance with a hand on his hip.

"Uh".' Lance reminded himself to focus on something other than the way that the tiny beads of water made Justin's chest glisten. "He was just glad we're ok. He was off looking for us but he's on his way back here. He'll be a bit less than 20 minutes".

"Really?" Justin said smoothly as he effortlessly moved to straddle Lance on the bed. He leaned his face toward Lance's "Does that mean that I get you all to myself until then?" He whispered sweetly before kissing him on the cheek.

Lance gave in and replied by roughly pulling him into a passionate kiss. It felt like they had been waiting for this ever since they were interrupted on the plane.

Lance slowly leaned back until he was laying on his back with Justin on top of him. The feeling of Justin's body against his made him feel weak.

Justin slowly pulled away from their kiss as Lance trembled, waiting desperately for his next move. "You're so cute, you know that Lance?" He smiled as he intertwined his fingers with Lance's then playfully pinned him down.

Lance struggled slightly, not actually trying to set his hands free. He felt so vulnerable, but also safe as he gazed up at Justin. He was at his mercy. "I'm not cute" He muttered embarrassedly.

Justin started to kiss his neck delicately "Yes you are" It made Lance shiver.

Lance's breathing became more heavy as Justin continued and his fingers locked into Justin's even tighter. "Justin.." He gasped "you're so beautiful".

A gentle smile crept over Justin's face and he released Lance's hands. He leaned over him, tenderly stroking his face and playing with his hair.

"What is it that you want from me Lance?" Justin asked shyly.

"W-what do you mean?" Lance stuttered.

"Well.." Justin averted his gaze "it's just..I really like you a lot".

"I like you a lot too" Lance smiled warmly. He didn't quite know what Justin was getting at. "I've liked you since last year".

"You did?" Justin seemed genuinely surprised "why didn't you tell this?".

"I don't know, I guess I never thought you would feel the same way. You know, I thought you were straight until recently. That and you're my best friend". Lance explained. "I didn't want to mess that up".

"I never would have guessed..but maybe i should have though with how much you liked to stare at me dancing in rehersals" Justin joked.

"Hey! I tried not too. I couldn't help it" Lance whined indignantly.

There was a pause as Justin gathered the courage to continue.

"Do you think we'd be messing with our friendship if we were you know..together?" Justin asked hesitantly. He was having trouble maintaining eye contact again and he spoke very quietly.

Lance's heart raced "You mean like, if you were my boyfriend?".

"Yeah.." Justin said in a very little voice.

"Well..um.." He hadn't really thought that far. He had never believed Justin would actually want him like that. But here he was and Lance had to attempt to give a calm answer. 

He looked at Justin who was watching him so expectantly. Lance almost got distracted by how adorable he looked. "It's a risk..but if we are respectful of each other and honest about of anything that comes up, it could work, maybe. How do you feel about it?".

"I guess about the same. It's just, I couldn't imagine not havin you as my best friend. Like, if it didn't work out. You would have to promise me that we'll still be friends".

"I can't know what the future holds" Lance said honestly as he held one of Justin's hands "but I promise you that I would do whatever I am able to to make sure that you stay my best friend".

"I promise too" Justin smiled as he released his hand from Lances to offer a pinky promise.

Lance giggled at the silliness of it and he linked his pinky with Justin's. "Does this mean you're my boyfriend?" Lance asked hopefully.

"..If you want me to be" Justin replied, similarly hopeful.

"Yes! Oh my gosh, come here!" Lance excitedly pulled Justin in for a adoring hug. Both of their faces were all smiles.

They layed in each others arms contently until the hotel phone rang.

"That's probably Future Lance" Lance sighed as he got up to answer it.

'Well, i'm gonna go get dressed then" Justin said as he walked back towards the bathroom. "Just one more thing".

"What?" Lance stopped.

Justin grabbed Lance's hand and pulled him into a kiss. "Ok go ahead" Justin smirked and shut the bathroom door behind him.

Lance was blushing as he picked up the phone.

"Hi, we have a visitor for you, a gentleman named..Lansten?"

"Ah yes, send them up, thank you" Lance replied.

No more than a minute later there was a knock at the door. Lance opened it and was quickly trapped in a forceful hug.

"Lance! You're really here! You're ok!"

"Y-yeah" Lance coughed. Future Lance's arms were oddly muscular, you wouldn't notice unless you were being held by him though.

"Anyway, what happened, fill me in" Future Lance asked eagerly as he made himself comfortable on the couch.

"Well-" Lance was interrupted by the bathroom door swinging open.

"Hey Lance" Justin waved. He made it obvious that he was referring to Future Lance.

Future Lance was caught off guard and looked up at Lance for answers. Lance stood next to Justin.

"Justin knows" he explained.

'You mean he-'.

''Yeah" Lance interrupted. 'When we were on the plane he saw me pass through a chair. I didn't mean for it to happen. However after something like that I kinda owed him an explanation'.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to tell anybody" Justin added.

Future Lance inhaled stressedly as he sat up "Well, I guess that's ok. Just ensure that you don't. We don't want to alter the timeline more than is necesary" he warned.

Just then Future Lance noticed how close the two were standing to each other. He also noticed Lances flushed face and That Justin had done his shirt up wrong. He gave his younger self a knowing glance. Younger Lance just looked away and pretended he didn't see it.

With the time that they had left they filled Future Lance in on the situation with the backstreet boys. They devised a plan.

"Are you gonna come to the VMAs uh, Lance?" Asked Justin. "I don't mean you, the other Lance" he clarified to his boyfriend.

"Maybe just call me Lansten, it'll be less confusing that way" future Lance suggested.

"That works" Justin nodded.

"To answer your question, originally I hadn't planned on it" he replied seriously. "But that was when I was worried about the Backstreet Boys finding out that i was on this timeline". He gestured to Lance "When i thought we had a chance for you to catch them by surprise". 

Future Lance sighed "However, since they must have seen me on TV and they already know that you're after them, it wouldn't really make a difference if they see me there anyway".

"But it's too late for us to get any extra tickets, the seats get allocated way in advance" Lance informed him.

"That's ok" Future Lance said as he sprung to his feet. "I don't need a ticket to be at the VMAs" He smiled slyly.

"How do you figure?" Asked Lance, looking up at him from the sofa.

"Well I can hang out at the entrance with the paparazzi. I've got a press pass from when i went undercover to learn more about the Backstreet Boys..but that's another story. Who knows, maybe I'll even be able to sweet talk my way in" He winked as he said the last part and it made Lance grimace.

"Also," Future Lance continued "while most of my power has faded since I gave you the crystal, there is still some chance I could get through the walls..that isn't too likely though. But regardless, I'll be nearby if you need me and I'll have my phone".

"But if we leave you on your own out there wouldn't you kind of be in danger?" Justin asked.

"Not really, the backstreet boys above anything have to maintain appearances. They have their pop group oblgations to tend to". 

Future Lance elaborated "Even if they wanted to, they couldn't be seen wandering back outside to attack some random guy. So actually, amongst the paparazzi is probably the safest place for me to be".

Future Lance walked towards the door but when he reached it he turned around and put a hand on his hip. 

"Anyway, time is of the essense. I bought myself an outfit while I was out looking for you, I should go get ready in my room, I'll see you two at the VMAs". He smiled warmly and waved as he shut door behind him "Bye".

"Bye" Justin and Lance replied together.

Future Lance pressed the down button and waited for the elevator. As it arrived two familiar men spilled out of the doors. However they had no idea how familiar they were to him.

"She wasn't checking you out Joey, trust me" Chris argued before stepping out of the elevator.

"She so was du-" Joey totally stopped when he recognized who was in front of him.

"Heyy Chris" Future Lance said awkwardly.

"Oh hey! How's it going?" Chris asked with a friendly tone.

"Yeah, pretty alright" He smiled politely as he went for the elevator.

"Uh, hey, uh guy.. You don't know me but I'm a friend of Lance's and" Joey stuttered as he went to shake hands. "Well..any friend of Lance's is a friend of ours".

"Well..it's great that he has friends like you guys. It's nice to meet you" Future Lance commented as he shook his hand.

"You too man".

Future Lance entered the elevator and the doors shut behind him.

Chris elbowed Joey painfully in the rib "Way to make it weird" he remarked.

"I didn't mean to" Joey laughed. "I just didn't expect to see him there, I didn't know what to say".

Joey lowered his voice "It was kinda weird actually seeing him, you know, like, Lance and him have been..together. It just, I don't know. I guess it really hit me that its not just some distant joke, Lance really is 'seeing' a very old dude".

"Yeah, it sure is weird alright, but I'm not here to judge Lancey's taste in men. Besides, people are into all sorts of weird stuff, it's not just Lance" Chris retorted.

"People can be into whatever they want, it's fine by me" Joey agreed. "I just hope that Lance knows what he's doing" he added seriously.

"You and JC worry too much" Chris dismissed as they arrived at their rooms.

Nsync's management had scheduled for hair, makeup and wardrobe people to come up to Justin's room to help them get ready. They had to be looking their best when they arrived at the VMAs.

One by one, after they had showered, the group eventually gathered in Justin's room to wait. Joey and Chris were boastfully telling Justin and Lance about the great things they missed out on while they were gone. JC was lazily sprawled out on the bed, playing with a Rubik's cube that a fan had given him outside the hotel.

Justin answered the hotel phone and gave the staff permission to send the hair, make up and wardrbe people up.

A team of five stormed into the room. One of them was carrying five outlandish outfits on hangers with plastic draped over them. The rest were carrying Large cases that folded out into complete hair and make up storage units.

The guys were amazed at just how quickly these people managed to make their humble hotel room feel like a TV studio dressing room.

First thing was to change into their outfits. Though they had consulted with the stylist over the phone when she was designing these, some members of the group immediately wished that they had attempted to have more input.

Lance was quite happy with his. He felt kind of sophisticated, copared to some of the other outfits he'd been made to wear.

He wore a teal suit jacket and matching dress pants. This was accented by a purple button up vest over a grey collared shirt and black tie. He was also given small, round, clear lensed glasses to wear. However he had to wait until he was finished with hair and makeup before he could put them on.

Justin couldn't complain about his, he'd had worse.

Justin wore a leather jacket, leather pants combo with a shimmerey blue vest layered underneath.

"Like, I get that you're the fashion expert and stuff and I love the outfit..but I just don't really understand the arm and leg bands? Do they..serve a function or something?" JC was genuinely confused as he looked at himself in the full length mirror. He was trying to be as delicate as possible so that he didn't offend the stylist.

JC wore a grey button up dress shirt with matching pants. On top was an assertive vest made of black faux fur. There were unusual tight bands worn on top of clothes, placed half way up each leg and on the upper half of each of his arms. The loose fabric would bunch around them. He hadn't seen anything like it before.

"Trust me JC, after you're seen with them, all the kids will be wearing them" reassured Riyu the stylist. "You're a trendsetter" she added confidently, putting her hands on his shoulders.

"Right" He conceded.

"Pfft you look fine, I'm the one that looks like a flamboyant frog!" Chris snickered. He was much less tactful when it came to dancing around Riyu's feelings.

Riyu forced a polite giggle that soon turned into a cold glare. Chris hadn't noticed.

He was absolutely sparkling in his green glittery vinyl jacket. It was layered over a basic plum shirt and beige pants. The look was completed with large sunglasses with hot pink lenses.

"I don't know what you guys are complaining about, these outfits are great" Joey smiled as Dana the hairdresser worked gel through his hair.

He was wearing a pony hair trench coat that was such a dark shade of green that it was almost black. It was offset by his contrasting red hair. A classic look. This was accompanied by black PVC pants that were so shiny that they practically glistened.

He was allowed to wear him superman necklace too.

The hair and makeup people finished just in time as Lance got a phone call, informing them that their limo was waiting outside.

"You guys go ahead, tell the limo to wait up, i just have to grab something from my room, then I'll meet you there" Lance instructed the group.

"What are y-" Joey was interupted.

"Sure Lance! Come on, let's hurry guys" Justin replied cheerfully as he led the rest out the door. His attempt to make them not ask Lance any further questions had worked.

They hurried downstairs and waited in the limo.

Meanwhile Lance made a quick stop off at Future Lance's room.

He opened the door wearing a black suit with a baby pink undershirt.

"Oh hey Lance..you like it?" Future Lance asked as he twirled around.

"I don't have time! the guys are in the limo waiting for me. Did you manage to get the thing we discussed?" Lance asked urgently.

Future Lance sighed dissapointedly. "Yeah, I'll just grab it" he walked back into his room, reached into a drawer and returned.

"A simple 'yes, I like your suit' would have sufficed you know" Future Lance remarked as he handed Lance a video camera. It was flatly shaped, somewhat like a small video tape.

"Sorry" Lance's shoulders slumped, he felt mean. 

"I like your suit" He added as he slid the camera into his jacket pocket. Then he went back to hurrying."Anyway, gotta go, see ya there!".

"Bye" Future Lance waved and watched Lance run into the next elevator.

Lance and Justin felt uneasy the whole way there. The others were just excited to be invited to the VMAs for the first time. Lance felt jealous oh how they were actually able to have a good time.


	6. Chapter 6

As they arrived and exited the car they were swamped by the press. They walked foward confidently.

Justin discreetly whispered to Lance "did he have it?".

Lance nodded at Justin and patted the side of his jacket before turning back to the crowd.

"Justin! Justin! How does it feel to be nominated for a VMA award for the first time!?"

"We're very grateful that we've being recognized. It's a big honor" he replied without stopping.

"JC! Nsync has been nominated for best pop video, best group video and the viewers choice award. What do you feel your odds of winning are?"

"Well, I wouldn't really be able to tell you that. There are so many talented artists here who all deserve the award as much as us" JC responded as rehearsed.

Management had told them how they were meant to answer the really generic questions. That's why JC loved it when he gets thrown a weird question. It gives him a chance to be himself. He was hoping for some today.

The camera flashes were blinding. On the other side of the barricades that surrounded the metropolitan opera house were hoards of wild fans. 

Joey noticed a young girl holding a sign that simply read 'Joey, stop cheating on me' it made him chuckle.

There was a woman just slightly ahead of them who was surrounded by even more press than they were. She was standing with her back to them wearing a purple one shouldered jumpsuit.

Her lavender hair swayed as she turned around.

"Nsync!?" She totally ignored the reporter that was mid interview with her and ran over.

All of their eyes widened as she turned towards them.

"Lil Kim?" Justin exclaimed "your..".

"I know, great huh?" She laughed and gestured at her outfit. What they couldn't see while Lil Kim was turned around was that her outfit totally exposed one of her breasts. But for some level of modesty her nipple was covered by a sequined seashell-like decal.

There was a breif silence while the group gathered themselves.

"It's a look." Lance laughed slightly. "Only you could pull this off, i'm almost jealous of how bold you are".

"Aw, well thank you honey" she went to hug each of them starting with Lance.

Lance and Justin smirked watching the way that Joey, Chris and JC froze up. They were sweating when she just went near them.

It was pretty obvious that the main reason she had to hug everybody was because she found their reactions so funny.

"Well, I should get back to stuff" Lil Kim gestured towards the swarm of photographers "enjoy the VMAs guys" she smiled and turned to walk away.

"W-w.." Chris stared blankly as she left.

Justin waved a hand in front of Chris's face "Hey, anybody there?" He joked.

"..wow" he exhaled. "Today must have been my lucky day".

"I know what you mean" added Joey vacantly, JC nodded.

Chris blinked a few times then looked up at Justin. "I know why Lance is keeping his cool so well" he smirked "but how are you so unneffected? She literally was right up against you".

"Well..uh" Justin felt so nervous, was his lack of interest that obvious? 

It's not like he was never going to tell the rest of the guys about him and Lance. But they hadn't really discussed it and the idea of them just guessing about him not being straight made his heart race.

"You know our Justin" JC interrupted "Mr calm and collected".

"I guess that's true" Chris agreed.

Lance smiled to himself. He couldn't see 'Mr calm and collected' Justin like he used to. Not after watching him stutter nervously whenever he brought up Lance's fake boyfriend. Or after the clumsily adorable way he asked him out.

He felt like he knew Justin's secret. That Justin could be just as awkward and imperfect as the rest of them. But to Lance, that just made him seem more perfect.

So many stars were arriving. They saw Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson. Chris made a joke about Tommy Lee's trench coat, how he was dressed like a flasher.

TLC showed up but luckily they didn't stop to say hey. Lance and Justin didn't want to get caught for their lie. In hindsight it might have been better to lie about somebody who wasn't going to be at the same award show as them.

A photographer from people magazine asked if they could take some photos Of Nsync and they obliged. They stood together in a line and smiled. Lance smiled even bigger as he noticed Future Lance in the distance, mingling with the crowd. Joey frowned slightly as he noticed the same thing.

Just then everybody was interrupted by screeching tires and the smell of burning rubber. A silver Limo with dark blue tinted windows had arrived, carelessly parked diagonally in front of the entry gate.

Lance felt his stomach sink.

The intro from 'Larger than life' boomed out of the limo as the Backstreet Boys made their entrance. The limo then drove away just as quickly and recklessly as it had arrived.

There was absolute hysteria from the fans.

Lance and Justin could do nothing but watch. They felt helpless.

As the Backstreet Boys approached, Howie gave them a soft smile before quickly averting his gaze.

That would have made Lance and Justin feel slightly comforted. If it wasn"t immediately followed by a piercing glance from Kevin that struck fear into their hearts without him even trying.

"Oops, sorry Timberlake" Nick sarcastically laughed as he very purposefully and very forcefully bumped into Justin when he walked by.

Justin went to yell something back at Nick but JC grabbed his arm.

"Don"t, trust me it"s not worth it" JC said seriously.

Justin sighed "You're right".

"Did Nick Carter just diss Justin Timberlake? Find out that and more on e news live" A nearby reporter said to her camera.

"Wow, they don't waste time do they?" Justin commented annoyedly.

"I know" JC comforted "Just try to ignore them".

"It's Britney!" They overheard Christina Aguilera exclaim excitedly. Christina ran over to the pink limo that had just arrived. She was followed by the sea of photographers and reporters.

Nsync stood back and watched her climb out of the limo. They didn't want to get in the middle of the spectacle that was her arrival.

"Britney! Britney! Is it true that you are going to be performing with Nsync?"

"Sorry, you'll just have to wait and see" she giggled.

"Britney! Could we get a photo of you for teen people magazine?"

"Why of course" Britney smiled and posed for them.

"Why don't you go say hey to your girlfriend" Chris teased as he nudged Justin.

Justin laughed uncomfortably. "It's not like that, Britney is just a good friend" he mumbled.

"Aw he's getting shy, how cute" Chris laughed and pushed Justin into Britney who was walking up to them.

Justin stumbled but managed to stop himself right before he would have bumped into Britney.

"Uh sorry about that" He said as his eyes met with hers. He was standing a little too close for comfort and quickly pulled himself back.

He was happy that he only saw camera flashes go off as he pulled away. He didn't need more rumours.

Britney's flawless smile painted her face. "Justin! Hey! Are you totally pumped for tonight?" She was enthusiasm embodied.

"Yeah..you bet" he attempted to say convincingly.

"We're gonna have so much fun, I know it. Do you remember your moves?" She asked teasingly.

"Yeah, I remember" Justin smiled but avoided her gaze.

Seeing how excited she was made him feel a pang of guilt at the idea that he might let her down with this performance. 

He was going to do his best, but it's not exactly like he could make it his main focus like the rest of the guys could. Well, except Lance. They had more important business to tend to.

"See, I'm like a modern day cupid" Chris commented to JC while they watched Justin from a distance.

"I don't know about that. Maybe they really are just friends, Justin said so himself" JC replied.

"Yeah, but Justin never talks about who he likes. He's so weird and private about that stuff. It sort of wouldn't surprise me if he lied about that." Joey contributed.

"He doesn't need to be embarrassed though" Chris said frustratedly. "I tell you guys about me making a fool of myself to women I'm interested in so much that you could write a book about it. Joey, well he tells us about pretty much every woman who acknowledges him."

"Hey!" Joey argued.

Chris ignored him "And Lance, well you're not as open about this stuff as the rest of us are.. But still your choice of partner is pretty.. brave" he made sure that no reporters were around before adding that part. The press were adequately distracted by Britney and Justin. 

"I"m sure whoever had Justin's heart couldn"t be any more of a shock than yours" he added.

Lance wasn't sure if this was true. If they only knew.

He wouldn't have trouble telling them, but Justin wasn't out yet. So he was going to wait until Justin was ready.

Chris leaned into Lance "Sorry i don't mean any offense".

Lance laughed uncomfortably "No, that's ok".

"He's still so young though" contributed JC. "And as far as we know, he hasn't even had a serious girlfriend yet. Before I had at least been in a few actual relationships I was pretty embarrassed to talk about that stuff too. Even to the person I was with". 

Lance nodded and stopped himself from smiling as he remembered how cute Justin was when he tried to talk about these things.

"Hey, he's coming back" shushed Chris.

Justin walk towards them and stood next to Lance.

"How was Britney?" Asked Joey.

"She's pretty excited to be at the VMAs" Justin replied. "So excited that she hasn't even slept" he added.

"Wow, you wouldn't be able to tell" Lance commented as they watched her energetically mingle with the crowd.

"Hey let's-" Justin grabbed Lance"s arm but quickly released it when he remembered that people were watching. He'd gotten so used to being able to be more touchy with Lance that he briefly forgot. "Uh, let's go check out what's inside, you wanna?"

"Yeah sure" smiled Lance then he addressed the rest of the group "We're gonna go inside, do you guy want to just meet us there when you're done out here?"

"Ok" Chris said distractedly as he was busy trying to easedrop on Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson, who were having an argument nearby.

"We'll see you there" JC added.

They slid through the crowd and into the grand foyer. When they got there they noticed four of Backstreet Boys talking to TLC on the other side of the room.

"This is never going to work" Lance sighed.

"Don't be like that, we've come this far. We'll find a way" Justin reassured.

"Find a way to what may I ask?" A menacing voice over their shoulders startled them both.

Fingernails dug into them as the man standing between them threw his arms around both of their shoulders. Almost the way that a friend would but this was much more intimidating. He pulled them in to him so tightly that they struggled to move.

"AJ" Lance gasped, trembling all over.

"Did you have fun sneaking off Pearl island? Because what we have in store for you is going to be even more..fun" AJ laughed aggressively. "You're going to wish you'd just stayed on that island".

"We'll see about that" muttered Justin.

"WHAT!?" Exclaimed AJ exaggeratedly as he leaned his face close to Justin's. "Does wittle baby Justin Timberlake want to stop the big bad Backstreet Boys?" he mocked in a cutesy tone.

"You're not going to get away with this AJ" Justin said firmly as he looked at him directly.

"Haha, right. I better watch out" he taunted.

AJ pulled them in tighter one last time "Don't let how easily you escaped fool you. The rest of us aren't as stupid as Howie and he has been greatly punished for his incompetence". He dug his nails in harder "Kevin does not tolerate failure".

Lance and Justin gasped to catch their breath as he released them from his bind and walked away.

The rest of the Backstreet Boys were gone.

Lance collapsed onto a nearby bench and put his face in his hands. "I should have known this was a bad idea. I'm usually so sensible and responsible. What on earth made me believe that I could save the world?" He muttered.

Justin sat down next to him. "I believe that you can save the world Lance" he said sincerley.

"I'm just a singer in a boy band, that's what I'm good at. I shouldn"t have gotten mixed up with this. Somebody else would be much better at this than me" Lance cried.

"But somebody else's future self wasn't so dedicated to saving humanity that they even travelled back in time to help stop the Backstreet Boys".

"I guess" Lance mumbled, he lifted his face.

"You're the bravest guy I've met. You"ve been so brave this whole time. The stress has just gotten to you a bit. I know it'll be ok" reassured Justin.

Lance smiled slightly.

"Thank you" He replied quietly.

"Besides, I'm here to help you remember? We'll figure something out" comforted Justin.

"I'm so glad you are here" Lance replied gratefully.

"Hey, since the other guys are off somewhere, why don't we go talk to Lansten? Maybe he's had some ideas since being here" Justin suggested.

"Yeah, ok" Lance replied as he pulled out his phone. "I'll tell him to meet us at the entry. If we're quick maybe the others won't see us".

He stood up and dialed Future Lance's number.

"Heyy, you'll never who I'm with" boasted Future Lance.

"Who?" Lance asked.

"David Bowie! this man, he knows how to tell a story" Future Lance chuckled.

"That's nice, but would you be able to meet us at the entry? We want to talk to you".

"Ok, ok I'll be there" Future Lance replied dissapointedly.

Lance adjusted his spectacles and straightened his suit jacket then walked towards the entry. Justin followed.

As they walked down the stairs they spotted Future Lance who appeared to be pouting slightly.

"I know that this is important, but you pulled me away from David Bowie! As far as he knows I'm just a nobody. Yet he was telling me of all people about his outlandish adventures. I'd tell him that he was wild, then he'd be like 'This is me straight, buddy'. It was hilarious".

"I'm sorry that we made you leave David Bowie" Lance sighed impatiently. "But we have more pressing matters to attend to".

"I know, I know, come over here, it's a bit more private" Future Lance motioned them around a corner.

Lance and Justin followed him to a small garden around the back of the opera. There was nobody else there, probably because they technically weren't allowed to be there either. However, security was busy with other stuff.

"So have you been following the Backstreet Boys around?" Future Lance asked.

"We were going to" Justin explained. "But then AJ snuck up on us. He really made it seem like they'd be keeping an eye on us".

"Then, while we were distracted with AJ the rest of them left. We didn't even see where they went to" Lance added.

Future Lance stroked his chin. "Well, it's a pretty big venue, but they might have gone backstage" he suggested.

"But even then, we're not going to be able to watch them enough to get the footage we need. Not without them noticing us" Lance said defeatedly.

After a moment future Lance responded. "Hey, I have an idea. You said that Howie is basically on our side right?".

"Yeah?" Lance asked slowly.

"Well why don't you ask him to lure them to a location that you are able to hide in with the camera. Then, have him prompt them to say something that would make the fans have a change of heart" Future Lance suggested.

As Lance looked over to the fans behind the barricade and spotted a sign that read 'Nick I'd pay U to punch me' he questioned if there even was anything that the Backstreet Boys could say to have that effect. Their love seemed pretty unconditional. But there might be a way.

"We just have to find a way to get Howie alone so we can ask him" Future Lance added.

"How are we supposed to do that?" Asked Justin.

There was a silence.

"Maybe you could just sort of you know..grab him" Future Lance suggested hesitantly.

"What!?" Justin laughed "Just grab him? That's what you come up with?".

"I don't see you coming up with any ideas, Justin" Future Lance pouted and folded his arms. "Bear with me though. If we could lure the backstreet boys somewhere like over there..".

He pointed back to the corner that had led them to the garden and walked towards it. Lance and Justin followed.

"And Lance was to hide on the other side of the corner. We could create a big diversion that would take the Backstreet Boys attention so Lance could grab him and quickly drag him back to the garden. It'd seem like he just wandered off".

"Ehhhh, what else have you got?" Lance asked dismissively.

"That's my best plan, take it or leave it.

Justin peered around the corner.

"Hey look! We may not have to come up with a diversion, he's right there and he looks like he's alone" Justin exlamed.

The other two also peered around the corner. It was Howie alright and he was nervously making his way over to a photographer for 'Ok' magazine.

"Hey..hey..hey Howie..Howie" Lance whispered loudly.

"You won't get his attention like that" Future Lance lightly shoved his younger self. "Get him over here".

"Ok, ok" Lance said annoyedly.

He waited until Howie walked a little bit closer to the corner.

"Howie".

Howie jumped. He looked around but couldn't see anybody there. He shrugged and went to keep walking.

"Howie! Over here".

Howie again looked around. He then noticed a pale hand waving from behind the wall.

"It's me Lance. We need to talk you you"

"I can't talk to you Lance." Howie muttered nervously. He looked over his shoulder. "Have you got any idea what would happen to me if Kevin found out?".

"But Howie, we need your help" Lance argued.

"I can't help you" he hushed. Howie turned away, trying to look unsuspicious.

"Oh my gosh, I guess if you want a thing done right you have to do it yourself" Future Lance sighed frustratedly.

"What the-" Howie exclaimed as he was sharply pulled by the wrist around the corner. It happened so quickly that the chance of anybody seeing was slim.

As he stumbled he was grabbed up in Future Lance's strong arms.

"Hey!what are you-"

"Shhhh" said Lance with a finger to his lips.

Future Lance ran, carrying Howie back to the garden like a struggling child. Lance and Justin followed.

"Wow, I didn't know future me was so buff" Lance laughed.

"Thanks, I try" Future Lance panted. He put Howie down.

"I-i have to get back to the other guys" Howie stuttered. He went to walk away but Lance held onto his arm.

"I know how it would be really bad if you're seen with us. But please give us a chance. Without your help things could be pretty bad too" Lance pleaded.

Howie stopped and studied Lance's sad eyes for a moment. He sighed and sat down. He couldn't say no to Lance. Lance was the only person who had been nice to him since..well, since he didn't even know.

"What is it that you want?" Howie asked reluctantly. He knew he would regret this.

Lance explained how for their plan to work they had to get footage of the Backstreet Boys that would make the fans have a change of heart. He also explained how for that to happen he would need Howie to bring the other Backstreet boys to a location. Lance would hide with his video camera. Then Howie just had to steer them toward saying something mean.

After some convincing Howie agreed to help. They concluded that the Backstreet Boy's dressing room was the best place for it.

Howie left first so that it didn't look like they were together. He quickly asked the lady from ok magazine the question that Kevin had sent him to ask. Then he went back to the main entrance.

He was a nervous wreck, but he hoped this was the right decision.

The chatter at the entrance of the metropolitan opera seemed to fall silent over his beating heart. Howie's legs felt weak as he climbed the stairs.

"Hey Kevin! There's Howie!" Nick announced loudly from the other side of the foyer. He was standing in the doorway of the corridor that connected the foyer to the backstage.

"Ah, good" Kevin said flatly as he briefly peered around the doorway at Howie.

"You took a while" Brian commented.

Kevin silenced Brian by simply holding his hand like a stop sign.

"What did the representative of 'ok' magazine say?" Kevin asked directly. His eyes Peirced into Howie like knives. They shone like the sequins that decorated his shirt.

"Uh, she was happy to have a backstage interview with us after our performance" Howie said nervously.

"Excellent" Kevin responded. He leant against the wall "Then our plan is in motion" he solemnly concluded.

A staff member of the metropolitan opera entered the foyer and made an announcement. "Everybody! Please make your way to your seats as the VMAs are going to begin in ten minutes".

"Well, I suppose now we just enjoy the show and wait" Brian commented as they turned to walk into the main room.


	7. Chapter 7

After Howie had left, Lance and Justin met back up with Joey, Chris and JC who had been wondering where they were. This was only a few minutes before they were also led in to the main room.

They were amazed at the grandness of it. An opera house was such an unusual venue for MTV to host an award show at.

They made their way to their seats. The Backstreet Boys were seated quite far away, but not so much that Lance couldn't make out AJ glaring at them.

Lance and Justin weren't going to be able to enjoy this until the Backstreet Boy's plan had been stopped.

Lights flooded the stage and a group of opera singers stood dignifiedly in a row. A man in a suit holding a white stick walked out in front of them. Suspense filled the room as he raised the it.

As he brought it down music played and he conducted the opera through a cover of "bawidaba" by kid rock.

The audience laughed when they recognized the song.

A man with a white suit entered the stage as kid rock yelled.

"His name is Chrrrriiiiiiiiiiiis..Chris Rock!"

Everybody cheered.

The man in the white suit yelled into his microphone "My name is Chriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis Rock".

The music stopped as the crowd applauded. Chris Rock strutted confidently across the stage.

"What's up new York!? Yeah!" He enthusiastically addressed the audience. "Welcome to 1999 MTV music video awards! We're live here at the metropolitan opera, that's right".

"Hey Lance, what's up? Why do you keep look over there?" JC leaned over Justin to ask.

"Oh, uh, my neck just hurts" Lance lied as he rubbed his neck.

He had been anxiously watching the Backstreet Boys. He wanted to be around for as much of the show as he could. However he had to make sure that he got to the dressing room before them.

 

* * *

 

 

As kid rock took the stage Lance stood up.

"Where are you going? Asked Chris.

"I just have to pee" Lance explained as he slid past them along the row of seats.

"Ok have fun" Chris smirked.

As Lance quietly made it to the door he glanced back at the Backstreet Boys. He was relieved to see that they weren't watching him.

He felt nervous as he wandered back to the dressing rooms. The corridor was filled with busy staff members racing around.

Luckily the Nsync dressing room was right next to the Backstreet Boys room. This made getting in without being seen a little bit more simple.

Lance entered the Nsync room and shut the door behind him. Then he ran his hands along the smooth texture of the wall that divided the two rooms.

He shuddered at the idea of his power not working. However he tried not to fixate on it. He had to focus.

Lance breathed deeply and leant into the wall. It didn't budge.

He stepped back then attempted again with slightly more force.

He then found himself in the Backstreet Boy's room.

The room didn't seem to have as obvious a hiding place as he had hoped. It contained a large vanity that spanned an entire wall. He hesitantly tossed up hiding under it. It was so large that they may not notice him, but still. If they stood in the right part of the room they would be able to see him quite easily.

He wished that he had asked for Howie's advice on where to hide. Howie could have looked out for him too if he knew where Lance was going to hide. Why didn't he ask Howie when he had the chance? Lance felt like an idiot.

He felt a surge of adrenaline when he heard a large group of footsteps in the corridor.

"Oh no oh no" Lance muttered, pacing around the room.

He then sighted a large woven clothes hamper with a lid. Without a better option, he jumped in and made himself as small as possible. Lance hastily clawed at the flimsy hamper in an attempt to make a hole large enough for the camera to see through.

He figured the hamper was a safe bet. They were unlikely to have a use for it.

Lance managed to set his camera up right before they arrived. He just had to wait and put his trust in Howie.

Kevin entered the room first, then the rest followed. He walked over to a clothes rack that had five black leather outfits hanging from it.

"Brian, are you confident that the signal is operational?" He asked sternly as he selected the hanger labelled Kevin.

"You bet. I tested it out on some dogs earlier. They ran away from home just to follow me" he chuckled. He also grabbed his outfit from the rack.

Lance felt kind of wrong watching them get changed so he looked away. Luckily they weren't saying anything much.

When it seemed like they were done he peered back out. They were dressed completely in black with leather trench coats. Except AJ was holding his coat in his arms, revealing the tight crop top that he was going to wear underneath.

Only AJ could make a crop top look tough.

"Are you guys excited for the show?" Asked Howie while straightening his jacket in the mirror.

"I'm excited for what we're gonna do at the show" Nick remarked.

"Yeah..me too" Howie agreed hesitantly.

"I just got a message from Pearlman. He would like us to meet with him breifly once the performance is over" Announced Kevin.

"Ok, good" replied Nick.

Pearlman? Like, as in Lou Pearlman? As in Nsync's manager Lou Pearlman? Lance was confused by this since he knew that the Backstreet Boys had already sued him. He didn't get why they would still have anything to do with him. Also, why hadn't Lou mentioned it? Nsync had been seeing increasingly less of Lou in recent times. Maybe he was just too busy to mention it. Poor Lou, he mustn't even know that the group that he was managing are space criminals.

Howie put his hands in his pockets and shuffled his feet uncomfortably.

"Are you alright Howie?" Asked Brian when he noticed that he seemed a bit off.

"Yeah fine" said Howie flusteredly.

Lance felt sorry for Howie. He kind of wanted to give Howie a hug. Lance had put him in such a difficult position, which he felt bad about. But he was so thankful for Howie helping them.

"A lot of our fans came out to see us. Did you guys see how many were outside?" Howie clumsily resumed trying to steer them toward saying something that they would regret. It wasn't easy.

"It's not like there was that much more than usual" Nick replied apathetically as he brushed his hair. He didn"t even move his gaze from his reflection.

"I guess not..hey, what did you think about some of the signs that they were holding out there?" Some of them were a bit wild huh?" Howie asked, probably not coming off as casually as he had hoped.

Kevin stepped closer to Howie.

Howie gulped as he approached.

"What's with your recent fascination with the fans, Howie?" Questioned Kevin as he raised an eyebrow menacingly.

Lance even felt Intimidated just watching him.

Kevin continued "Brian told me that you might even be starting to pity them. Is this true?"

"No, not at all" Howie stammered. His palms were sweating.

Kevin studied Howie. When Kevin looked at him like that it felt like he was reading him like a book. He felt exposed and afraid. All he could do was hope that his face didn't betray his lies.

"Ok then" Kevin finally conceded. "Because I would hate toto think that you've lost your way".

"I haven't, I promise you" Howie reassured.

Kevin placed his hand firmly on Howie's back. It gave him shivers.

"Mercy is a weakness. Remember that" Kevin said seriously.

"Those fans don't deserve our mercy anyways, did you see how annoying they were when we were just trying to get to the entrance? Or trying to get anywhere for that matter?" Nick's face grimaced as he turned back to Howie. "They're like flies that you can't swat away".

Brian laughed heartily at this.

"Heh..yeah, they're pretty in love with us" Howie prompted.

"Those idiots don't know what love is. They just love whoever the magazines tell them to love" AJ remarked impatiently. He had finished getting ready.

"They will though" Kevin stated calmly. He folded his arms as he leant against the wall. We will show those fools what it's like to really be in love".

Lance was so proud of Howie and so happy that he seemed to have the footage that they needed. However he was concerned about a tickle that he felt at the back of his throat. He had been trying to keep it under control.

There was a knock at the door.

"Backstreet boys, you're on stage in 5 minutes" announced a staff member from outside the door.

"Thank you" replied Kevin.

"Well" he kicked his leg off the wall to stand up. "That would be our cue".

Kevin began to lead the way out.

A cough came from the corner of the room. Howie's heart just about stopped beating as the guys turned around.

Howie quickly faked a coughing fit to cover it.

"You uh, are you ok Howie?" Nick asked confusedly.

"Yeah" Howie panted. "I'll be fine, don"t worry about me".

Kevin gave him a cold glance then kept walking.

The rest of the Backstreet Boys followed.

Lance sighed with relief as the door shut behind them.

The relief that he felt with quickly replaced by anxiety when he remembered how little time he had. He leaped out of the hamper and went through the wall back to his dressing room. Then he exited into corridor.

 

* * *

 

 

Justin kept moving uncomfortably in his seat. He didn't like that he had no idea if Lance had suceeded or not. For all he knew Howie had been found out and Lance was tied to a chair somewhere backstage. He had barely been able to concerntrate.

Then it was announced.

"Here they are, the beautiful backstreet boys!"

The crowd roared as a spotlight went on the stage. The Backstreet Boys stood solemnly in a line. Brian began an acoustic version of "I want it that way".

_You are, my fire the one desire_

_Beleive, when I say_

_That I want it that way_

something about Brian made Justin want to pay attention. He couldn't put his finger on it. He never realized before how handsome Brian was. He felt so charmed by the way that he moved.

_Tell me why_

_Aint nothing but a heartache_

_Tell me why_

_ain't nothing but a mistake_

_Tell me why_

Then Justin realized what was happening and ran out of the room. There was no time to even offer his band mates an explanation. He wasn't going to be taken in by Brian's robotic heart.

Justin ran down the corridor. He felt his stomach sink as they switched from i want it that way to larger than life uninterrupted. Justin ran to the sound and lighting room in hopes that Lance was there.

"Lance!" Justin yelled.

"Justin!?" Lance responded. He hurriedly opened the door.

"What's happened?" Justin asked worriedly as he sat down in a computer chair next to Lance.

"It's fine, I just had some trouble getting the employee out of here. It's almost ready" Lance explained while fiddling with a computer.

He continued "My powers decided to not cooperate for a bit there. But eventually i made enough stuff levitate from outside that they ran out of the room..it felt kind of mean actually".

"You did what you had to" Justin comforted.

"Ok, ready" Lance announced triumphantly as he clicked the mouse.

The crowd were just about at the Backstreet Boy's mercy when the music turned off.

"Hey, what gives?" Asked Brian confusedly.

"I don't like the look of this muttered Kevin. His eyes full of rage.

A low quality movie was projected onto the wall behind them.

"Those fans don't deserve our mercy anyways, did you see how annoying they were when we were just trying to get to the entrance? Or trying to get anywhere for that matter? They"re like flies that you can't swat away".

The audience gasped. Nick looked horrified. As did Brian after the movie showed him laugh about Nicks remark.

"Heh..yeah, they're pretty in love with us"

At least Howie didn"t say anything too hurtful. He was just going to be hated by association.

"Those idiots don't know what love is. They just love whoever the magazines tell them to love"

The audience was booing and throwing stuff onto the stage.

"They will though. We will show those fools what it's like to really be in love".

Kevin stood stoically with his hands behind his back. He didn't even move or react when a muffin hit him in the face. He was calculating his next move.

Nick kept looking at Kevin inbetween apogizing repeatedly to the audience. He waited for him to tell them what to do next.

AJ was busy throwing stuff that landed on the stage back at the crowd and hurling insults.

"I'm going to make a phone call" Kevin stated calmly. Then he walked off stage.

Nick hurried after him.

Then the rest.

 

* * *

 

 

"You did it!" Justin threw his arms around Lance.

"We did it" Lance reminded him. Then he kissed Justin lovingly.

"We uh, should probably get out of here before people find us though" Lance decided.

"Good idea" Justin giggled.

Lance peered out of the door.

"Come on" he signalled to Justin.

The pair sneaked away and just as they made it to the foyer they saw a group of employees run to their former location.

An intermission had been declared and some of the stars who were in the main room began to pour into the foyer and outside.

Lance and Justin had managed to calm down a bit. They wondered if the backstreet boys would try again. However, now that everybody hates them they would find it almost impossible to have an audience of any sort. Much less an audience that feels love when they look at them. The robotic heart was a failure. It seemed to be over for them.

They spotted Joey, Chris and JC walking out of the main room.

"Hey guys!" Justin waved"

"Oh! Hey!" JC said happily as he noticed them. "Where did you run off to? You missed so much!"

"I uh..I felt like I might puke. Nerves, you know. Figured I might spare you guys from it" Justin lied.

"..gross" JC commented then laughed.

"You missed it!" Chris said excitedly. "This movie played of the Backstreet Boys saying that their fans were annoying like flies".

"Amongst other things. It was absolutely disgusting! You know, I have never hated a band as much as I hate the backstreet boys right now. I'm not usually the type to hate, but the way they act about their fans is awful" added JC.

"I should have known that they were trash" Chris commented bitterly.

Nsync went to walk outside. As they walked down the stairs they could see the backstreet boys footage being replayed on the news on a giant public TV. It was attached to the front of a nearby building.

"Those poor fans" Joey said sadly. He looked out to the barricades where fans were raging, crying and consoling each other. He felt particularly sad at a small group of teenage girls who were sitting on the floor crying over photos of Nick Carter. "I wish I'd never been nice to those damn Backstreet Boys" he muttered.

Lance breifly wondered if he had done the right thing. He had wanted to stop the backstreet boys from having control of the public. But he had used the power of the robotic heart to make them passionately hate the Backstreet Boys against their will. It isn't like he had much of a choice though.

Still, if there had to be either irrationally devoted love or bitter hatred forced on the public, hatred oddly seemed like the better option. At least if they are filled with hate they still get to make decisions for themselves. As opposed to being the Backstreet Boys loyal servants.

However hatred wasn"t the only response that the robot heart evoked. As it was just magnifying what the video footage made them feel in their hearts. This was why some of the fan weren't hateful at all. They were just sad and betrayed. They were the ones that were the hardest to look at. Lance couldn't help but feel somehow responsible. Even though it was the backstreet boys who had betrayed them.

"They'll be ok Lance. It's better that they know what the Backstreet Boys are really like" Justin comforted as he caught Lance staring off at the crying fans.

"Yeah.." Lance offered Justin a weak smile. "Makes you remember how much our fans care about us".

"We sure are lucky" nodded Justin as he thought of Amy and Pheobe's devotion and kindness.

A black limo pulled up at the front of the metropolitan opera and a fat man shimmied out.

"Hey is that Lou?" Asked Chris.

The others turned around to see.

"It..is? What's he doing here?" Justin replied as they watched him amble over.

Lance remembered how somebody named pearlman had wanted to see the Backstreet Boys after their performance. That was probably what he was there for. Unless maybe it was a different Pearlman that they had spoken to.

"Hey! How are my boys going?" Lou exclaimed enthusiastically.

"We're going fine " JC smiled politely. "What are you here for?"

Lou pulled out a tissue to dab the sweat from his face. "Well, I happened to be working at my new York office. I was going over some paperwork stuff that I had to run by you guys before I submit. Then I saw on TV about the intermission. So I figured, hey, why no just go down and get it out of the way" he explained.

Lance concluded that it probably was a different Pearlman that Kevin was referring to. It made more sense. The Backstreet Boys literally sued Lou Pearlman, why would they still associate with each other?

"I guess we could help you with that" Joey replied in a friendly tone.

"Thanks, but actually I only need Justin and Lance".

"Why?" Asked Justin. He stood closer to Lance.

"Because you two are under 21 I have all this legal mumbo jumbo to deal with. About guardianship and permissions and making sure you know your rights and don't feel 'exploited' ". He made exaggerated finger quotes when he said that word. "Yada yada yada it's very boring and tedious. But if you come with me we could get it out of the way. It's at my office, I'd have you back before intermission is over" Lou explained.

"Yeah? I guess that'd be alright.." Replied Lance. "You wanna Justin?".

"You'd be doing me a big favor, I'd be very grateful" Lou added pleadingly.

"Yeah, ok" Justin agreed.

Lou led them back to his limo.

Future Lance saw them leave with Pearlman, he remembered the court battle with him. He almost wished that he could tell Lance that Lou was stealing their money. But he would figure it out himself. He couldn't really justify messing with the timeline more.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is about as ridiculous as it gets tbh.

Lou's office was only a few minutes around the corner. They hurried into the grey building. Lance and Justin were sort of rushing him. They were just really excited to get back to the VMAs. They would finally be able to actually have fun now that the Backstreet Boys were defeated.

The steel doors of the elevator opened at Lou's floor and they filed into his office.

Lance and Justin thought it seemed odd how the rest of the building seemed to be deserted. Maybe it just wasn't a busy time.

"Don't be shy, pull up a chair" Lou instructed as he settled into his seat on the other side of The desk.

Lance and Justin sat down.

"Ok, so, I may not have been entirely honest with you boys about my reason for bringing you here" he confessed.

Lance frowned "what are you talking about Lou?".

"Well, I brought you both here to show you something and I had to get you away from the other guys. It's only for you two" He explained.

"What..what is it?" Asked Justin. He felt uneasy.

"How about this. Before I show you, i want to make you an offer" Lou said confidently.

They both waited for him to elaborate.

"What if I were to tell you that you could have it all?" Lou began.

"Uh.." Justin and Lance looked at each other confusedly. "What do you mean?" Asked Lance.

"I mean, if you wanted, with my help you could be winning at this game. You could have more than you ever wanted".

"You're already our manager Lou" Lance laughed uncomfortably, unsure if he knew what Lou was trying to say. "You're already helping us to win".

"This is about much more than just music" Lou dismissed. "You boys don't know the opportunity that you have. Being in a famous boy band is a position of power. It shouldn't be wasted".

Lance and Justin were totally confused. Why was he being so vague?

Lou struggled out of his chair and over to the window to draw his blinds shut.

"Don't you realize? You could have what the Backstreet Boys failed at. It could all be yours. With my help of course. There wouldn't be any slip up like they had with the robotic heart" He declared boldly.

"How do you know about that!?" Justin gasped.

"You were working with them, weren't you!?" Lance accused.

"I wasn't working _with_ them" Lou replied honestly. He gestured his hand to his chest "They were working for me".

"What!?" They both exclaimed.

"Yes, they were quite a promising group of boys indeed but after the events at the VMAs it seems that perhaps I was investing in the wrong boy band" Lou explained.

"What makes you think that we would want any part in this?" Justin exclaimed angrily.

"Come on Justin. Enough of the act." Lou put his hands on the desk, leaning his weight over it. "We both know that deep down, you two didn't just stop the Backstreet Boys out of the kindness of your hearts".

"How would you know?" Lance remarked bitterly.

"Because I know people, Lance. People don't just do things to get nothing in return. It's simply not in their nature. Even the nicest people you know are self serving in some way. It"s not wrong, it's just the way that people are." Lou argued.  

"That's not true" muttered Lance.

"Isn't it?" Lou replied indignantly. "I know the types that get attracted to this pop music game. I know them all too well. You would never admit it , but I know that you crave the type of power that the Backstreet Boys were looking for. A part of you was trying to stop them just because you didn't like the idea of somebody getting to weild that kind of power. It just felt wrong for somebody to have that much power didn't it? But maybe, the reason why it felt wrong is because it wasn't you" He pointed his finger and touched Lance with it lightly. "Isn't that right?".

"No, it's not right" Lance said as he swatted Lou's hand away.

"Deny it all you want. But you pop stars are all the same" Lou smirked.

"We're not the same as the Backstreet Boys, they're cruel and selfish" Justin replied.

"Maybe, but they had their reasons. Just like most people who do 'bad things ' ". He made finger quotes again when he said the last part of his sentance. Lou stroked his chin and stared off for a moment. "I remember when I first brought them together. When I was visiting Astoria".

"When you were visiting Astoria?" Lance was in disbelief. Was Lou Pearlman even from earth?

"Yes, not that there was much left to visit. The Klorar party had got into government and had sent most of the people of Astoria into poverty. Shortly after, they imprisoned the majority of the population" Lou explained.

He continued "Each of the Backstreet Boys had worked in respected roles of political parties that opposed the Klorar. Until the people in power effectively dismantled any group that opposed them. Making it an offense to do so. Then the Backstreet Boys were imprisoned to serve as examples".

"The Backstreet Boys were politicians?" Justin questioned.

"Yes, but that was way before I met them. Back then to the people of Astoria they were seen more like activists. The people had really put their hope in them. But when the Backstreet Boys parties were dismantled, when they couldn't help any more, the people felt let down. Then, to make things worse the Klorar fed the population propaganda that blamed the Backstreet Boys for their suffering. This made the Astorians turn to hating and shaming the five of them. While they sat in prison, for fighting for the people's rights".

Lou elaborated "I met them when i went to search for talent at the government sanctioned factories. If you worked tirelessly at the factory, you got a small ration of food. If you were a prisoner, this was your only way to feed yourself. This is what most Astorians were reduced to. Even people who were once powerful and influential like the Backstreet Boys. They toiled at the factories like the rest".

"So you took advantage of their desperation?" Justin accused.

"Not quite, not quite" dismissed Lou. "Yes, I saw an opportunity in them, but the motivation was all theirs. I picked this group of boys who felt completely powerless and bitter at the world. I simply gave them an opportunity to take what they wanted. To get power back, to get revenge on humanity, who they felt had let them down. It didn't matter if they were Astorian humans or earth humans. Of course, they didn't necessarily say that this revenge and power thing was what they wanted.. But after I magnified their feelings with my robotic heart, they were more than happy to work for me".

"You're a Monster!" Justin exclaimed.

"Oh come on boys, don't be like that. Your little stunt at the VMAs showed me that you two have what it takes. So I'm putting the offer out there. Together, we could accomplish something great" explained Lou.

"I would never want to help you!" Lance yelled as he slammed his hands on the desk and stood up.

"You can take your world domination fantasies back to wherever you came from, Lou" Justin added bitterly as he stood up too.

"Well..suit yourselves I guess. I was hoping that it wouldn't come to this" Lou said quietly.

"Were leaving" Lance said annoyedly.

"No, no, wait. I still have to show you what I brought you here to show you" his eyes narrowed "What Kevin called me here to show you".

"We're leaving!" Lance exclaimed again worriedly. He and Justin turned toward the door.

"I SAID WAIT!" Bellowed Lou.

As Lance went to open the door a Large robotic hand slammed itself onto the handle. They looked back in horror.

Lou Pearlman was standing there. His arm wasn't made of flesh anymore. It appeared to be made of a grey transparent plastic-like material. They could see the circuits and wires inside it that made the arm work. It almost reminded Lance of the grey transparent gameboy that he owned. They had an oddly similar appearance.

A flesh coloured prosthetic arm cover layed on the floor. Lou's robotic arm had extended all the way across the room. He twisted the handle off the door so that they can't open it.

"I didn't get to tell you about how my home planet has a booming bio machinery business. In fact, it was us who pioneered the robotic heart. I just wanted to show you how great our technology is" Lou said menacingly as he removed his other arm cover. "They're great for destroying little self riteous boybanders who don't do what they're told!".

Lance and Justin frightenedly backed into the corner.

"You're going to wish that you had joined me. Unfortunately. Since you chose not to" Lou removed his shirt, revealing a semi transparent body, full of circuits and blinking lights "I'm going to have to dispose of you".

They gasped.

Lou Pearlman was a robot!?" Justin exclaimed.

Lou Laughed at this. "At this stage I am 84 percent robot. I've had the feeble human parts replaced with much more efficient devices. So I am able to do stuff like this!".

Lou's arm extended across the room so quickly that Lance and Justin didn't even have time to react. It swatted them across the room almost effortlessly. They crashed against a wall.

"Justin! Are you ok!?" Asked Lance.

"Yeah..I'm fine.."

Lance wrapped his arms around Justin and helped him to stand.

Lou cackled and slammed them with his robot hand again.

But instead of crashing into it, this time both Lance and Justin went through the wall.

Lance had never used his walking through walls power when holding another person before. He was shocked but grateful that it worked.

They ran as fast as they could.

Lou ferociously ripped the door away and came stomping after them.

"Stay close to me! Ok Justin!?" Lance yelled as they ran.

"I will" Justin panted.

They went from room to room, attempting to barricade themselves by pushing photocopiers and desks in front of the doors. But Lou's inhuman strength meant that he would keep finding a way into the office.

Then it was back to running.

Lou had started picking up the walls from work cubicles to throw at them. Lance held onto Justin tightly in hopes that if it hit either of them it would just pass through.

"Fuck! Fuck!" Justin panicked as a wall come very close to hitting him. It loudly crashed into a filing cabinet.

Lance looked back over his shoulder and noticed an opportunity.

Lou was such a blur of rage that he was hardly paying attention to where he was going. All he could see was Lance and Justin. It felt like he was hunting down his prey.

Lance used his ability to levitate inanimate objects to knock over a desk at Lou's feet. It worked and Lou tumbled over it.

"We don't have much time!" Lance shouted as he and Justin ran into a fire escape.

They hurried down the stairs as fast as they could, but there were so many of them. Their leg muscles were pained but there were still more to go.

They heard Lou get up and ran faster.

"Almost there!" Yelled Justin as he saw the door at the bottom of the stairwell.

Justin's eyes widened as he pulled the handle.

"What kind of a building is this!?" He cried.

They were not on the ground floor, they were on the 4th. When Justin opened the door there was nothing but a steep fall. It looked almost like there used to be stairs that wound down the outside of the building but they had been removed.

Lou's footsteps echoed through the stairwell.

"..It's over" muttered Justin hopelessly with his back to the wall.

"Don't say that! We still have a chance" shouted Lance with adrenaline pumping through him.

"How Lance!? We are backed into a fucking corner with Lou Pearlman who is more machine than man on his way to get us!" Justin yelled.

"Wait..yes, Lou Pearlman is 84 percent inanimate object!" Lance declared excitedly.

"So!?"

"I can manipulate inanimate objects" Lance explained.

Lance stood tall as they waited for Lou's footsteps to get closer.

"There are my boys!" Shouted Lou aggressively as he spotted them.

Justin inhaled sharply and put all his trust in Lance.

"It's been fun playing cat and mouse with you two but I'm afraid that it's over" Lou said confidently as he approached.

"Over for you!" Lance scoffed.

There was an odd sound. Like the sound of metal being broken.

Lou's eyes widened. He stopped and looked down at his body concernedly.

Piece by piece, circuits, wires and machinery inside of him was being dismantled. Lou could only watch. He glared down at his transparent body in horror.

"What's happening!?" Cried Lou nervously. "What have you done!?" He accused.

"I bet you wish you still had your 'feeble human parts' now, huh?" Lance remarked as he made the wiring that made Lou's robotic legs work rearrange itself.

Lou fell to the floor immediately.

He roared with anger at Lance who was now standing over him. Then Lou swung his heavy arm at his foe's shins so hard that it knocked his feet out from under him.

He landed with a thud.

"Lance!" Cried Justin.

Lou began to laugh weakly.

"..You..won't..win, Pearlman.." Lance muttered as he struggled to get up.

Lou laughed even more at this then stopped to worriedly clutched his chest.

Lance made the switch that activates the signal of his robot heart break off.

"Hey! You little brat!" Lou yelled indignantly.

"That way you won't be able to do to anybody else what you did to the Backstreet Boys!" Lance managed to stand up. His shins were throbbing where they had been hit by the arm.

Lou groaned angrily and clenched his fists. Then, he got a glint in his eye as he slyly grinned at Justin.

Justin was too afraid to move.

Lou remembered how there was nothing but a steep fall outside the door that helpless Justin was standing right next to. Perfect.

Just as Lou reached his arm back, about to strike, it fell cleanly off his shoulder joint. Followed by the other arm.

Lou looked down in disbelief at his superior, strong and capable robotic arms that Lance had so effortlessly removed. Then back up at Lance, with actual fear in his eyes for the first time.

"It's over, Lou" Lance said tiredly as he walked closer to him.

"I-i'm sorry boys, really!..I've learnt my lesson! Honest!" Lou pleaded helplessly.

"Sure" Justin said sarcastically.

"I have!" Lou cried indignantly. "Please, just let me go back to my home planet and I'll never bother you again" he begged.

Lance and Justin looked at each other for a moment. Neither of them trusted him. However, Lance didn't really have it in him to hurt Lou more than he already had.

"You would have to never come back to earth ever again Pearlman" Lance commanded.

"Yes! Yes! Of course! Whatever you want just let me go! Lou whined. He looked like he was about to cry.

Lance hesitated "Ok then" he decided cautiously. "How do you get home?".

"I have a space craft on the top level of this building. You can get the elevator there" He explained.

"Ok let's go" replied Lance hastily.

"Wait, I'm gonna need some help getting there you know" Lou reminded them.

They looked down at him.

Justin sighed and went to lift up Lou's shoulders "this would be so much easier if you'd let him keep his arms, Lance".

"I know, I know" Lance laughed slightly as he lifted Lou's legs.

With much difficulty Justin and Lance carried Lou Pearlman into the elevator. When they arrived at the top floor they were glad to see that he wasn't lying. There really was a space ship. The spaceship was covered in a semi transparent grey material just like Lou's body. Except the mechanics inside looked like nothing that Lance and Justin had seen before.

The top level of the building in many ways looked like a warehouse. There were no walls, just a big room and no carpet had been laid over the bare concrete floor.

"Press that button on the wall for me, would you?" Lou jerked in it's direction.

"Why?" Justin asked suspiciously.

"I'm not up to something, it opens up the roof" He answered frustratedly.

They lowered him onto the floor and Justin hesitantly walked over to the button.

He flinched when he pressed it but as Lou said, it made the roof open like a roller door.

Justin sighed with relief.

They opened the door to the space craft and gathered the strength to lift Lou into his seat. After closing he door they watched on at Lou using his slimy toungue to press the coordinates. It made them feel slightly queasy.

Then as it rose out of the building the space craft faded until it was invisible. This must be how they had managed to arrive without anybody knowing about it.

 

* * *

 

 

With robot Lou Pearlman back on his home planet, Lance and Justin were ready to return to the VMAs. They jumped in the first taxi that they saw after leaving Lou's office.  
As they turned the corner they noticed that the flock of people outside the metropolitan opera was larger than before. They swarmed the taxi as they pulled up.

"It's Justin Timberlake and Lance Bass! They're back!" A woman cried.

"Justin! Justin!"

"No! Over here! Justin! Lance!"

So many reporters were getting in their faces and talking over each other that they both couldn't make out what they were saying.

"Get away from them would ya!?" Yelled a short man shoving his way through the crowd.

"Chris!" Lanced yelled, but he said "help us" with his eyes.

"Give them some space" ordered Chris as he stood in front of Lance and Justin like a barrier.

As the press reluctantly stepped back Joey and JC made their way to the front of the crowd.

"Come on" Chris said and protectively put an arm around both Lance and Justins shoulders. "We'll fill you in on what happened somewhere a bit more quiet".

The crowd moved aside to allow nsync into the opera house.

They could see that the foyer was almost empty as they walked up the stairs. Aside from a few of the employees.

"What was all that about?" Lance asked flusteredly.

"It's the Backstreet Boys! I don't know what's with them. But for some reason they really want to see you two" Chris explained animatedly.

"Us?" Justin said hesitantly.

JC and Joey shrugged.

"Yeah, I know right? It's bizarre. After their little movie they locked themselves in their dressing room. Nobody could get them to come out, or give any kind of statement."

Chris gestured back out to the crowd and continued "Which obviously the reporters weren't happy about. This is like, the biggest thing to happen to the celebrity world since..I'm not sure what's bigger actually. But then like five minutes ago, out of nowhere they asked us to bring them you two guys. So everybody here has been waiting for you to get back".

"I don't know if-" Justin began.

"We could handle that couldn't we Justin?" Lance smiled confidently at him. "We've been through worse".

Chris was confused at that remark but he didn't ask them to elaborate.

"Yeah I guess so" Justin agreed.

Opera employees eyes widened when they saw Nsync walk down the corridor to the Backstreet Boys dressing room.

"So..good luck in there" JC said as he patted Justin on the back.

"Thanks"

They arrived at the door.

"Hey.. It's Lance and Justin" they called out.

"Is there anybody else around?" Kevin asked.

They looked around them.

"Just JC, Joey and Chris..and some staff".

"Get them to leave" Kevin ordered.

"Well..ok.." Chris said dissapointedly as he and the others turned to walk away. He didn"t want to miss any of the drama.

The door slid open just a tiny bit.

Lance and Justin slunk inside with their guard up for what may be in store for them.

The Backstreet Boys were sitting slumped in chairs that they had pulled over from the vanity. The general mood that they had about them was different. But Lance couldn't quite tell how.

"Pull up a chair, we're so glad that you two survived" Kevin gestured at the vanity.

They both grabbed a seat with the backstreet boys. Justin folded his arms as he sat down and Lance mirrored him.

"So what's this about?" Lance asked sternly.

"It seems that we owe you an apology" Kevin stated.

"R-really?"

The other Backstreet Boys nodded then resumed shamefully gazing at the floor.

"..Why?" Asked Justin suspiciously.

"I don't know, we were totally for all this world domination stuff. Then like ten minutes ago it just..stopped?" Answered AJ confusedly.

"Sure" Lance said sarcastically.

"No really" added Howie. "I can't explain it. It feels like a weight is lifted off my heart. You have to Beleive us".

Howie looked sincere. But this was so abrupt.

"Yeah, it's like all the bitterness and resentment that I felt is gone. I don't feel the yearning for power anymore. I don"t even know why I wanted it in the first place" Nick said.

"You wanted it because Pearlman used his own robot heart on you. When you were feeling angry and powerless" Lance explained.

"He did what? Kevin"s eyes widened. "Well that explains a lot".

"But it doesn't explain why it just randomly stopped" added Lance.

"Hey, you said you felt this way ten minutes ago right?" Justin turned to Lance "Isn't that around the time that Lou Pearlman went to his home planet?".

"Really? He's gone?" Brian asked.

Lance and Justin nodded.

"Well that explains it. The signal from his heart would have stopped effecting us after he left the earths atmosphere" Brian explained.

"Well I'm glad that you guys are back to normal" Justin commented.

"We're so sorry for all the trouble that we have brought" Kevin said sincerely. "I wish that we could make it up to you. To everybody".

"That's going to be a bit hard now that everybody hates us" Nick sighed.

Yeah..I accept your apology. But you're right Nick, I don't know if they will" Lance replied honestly.

Lance felt sorry for them. It''s not like they could just go back to their home planet. But anybody who had seen the VMAs or the news that night harbors a burning hatred for the Backstreet Boys. Either that or they felt deeply hurt and betrayed by them.

There was a silence, then Howie spoke up.

"Well, maybe we'll just have to find a way back to their hearts" He stated hopefully.

"Huh?" The rest of the Backstreet Boys turned to Howie.

"We have all this money, we could do a lot of good for the world. There are a lot of people who need it more than we do. There are even places on earth where the people aren't treated much better than Astorians are" he suggested.

"Would it make a difference?, wouldn't they still hate us?" Asked Brian.

"Even if it doesn't, we owe it to earth to try to make things right. I don't know about you, but I don't want to feel like a bad guy anymore. It's not like we'll be able to be a boy band while our fans hate us anyway. So we could use this time to help out humanity wherever we are able to".

Kevin nodded "That's a good idea Howie".

A big smile spread over Howie's face.

His brothers were taking his ideas seriously. He knew that he wasn't just going to be Howie the punching bag anymore.


	9. Chapter 9

With The robot heart defeated and Lou back where he belonged on his home planet, the only thing left to do was help the Backstreet Boys to escape through the back exit. To hopefully avoid them being greeted by their hateful public.

It led them out to the garden behind the building.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye" Nick said.

"Yeah, you guys take care of yourselves" Justin replied.

"We will" smiled AJ as he threw his arms around Brian and Kevin's shoulders.

"I look forward to seeing how you guys help out the world" Added Lance.

"Thanks" Kevin looked over his shoulder. "We should probably get going before people find us"

"Bye guys" Justin said warmly.

"Just a moment" Lance requested.

He wrapped his arms around Howie. "Thank you" Lance whispered.

Howie hugged him back even more tightly. "Thank you for believing that I could be a better person, Lance" whispered Howie.

"Come on Howie" smiled Kevin.

Howie slowly pulled away then went over to the rest of his group.

"Goodbye! Good luck with your performance!" Called Nick as they walked away.

"Thanks" Justin and Lance replied while waving goodbye.

After watching the Backstreet Boys get away safely Lance and Justin both sighed with relief. It was finally over.

They waited a little before walking back out to the front of the opera. When they did they were flocked with people asking what happened with the Backstreet Boys. They simply told them that the Backstreet Boys were sorry for how they had acted. And for some reason unbeknownst to Lance and Justin, the Backstreet Boys just really wanted to talk to them about it.

The public weren't any less angry at the Backstreet Boys. However, it was good for them to at least know that they were regretful.

Intermission ended and people returned to their seats. The rest of the VMAs was much less eventful that what had preceded it. Which was good for Lance and Justin because they were exhausted. So exhausted that Lance was almost relieved when they didn't win any of the awards that they were nominated for. It meant that he didn't have to leave his seat. Justin almost dozed off during Fatboy slims performance. Luckily, nsync and Britney's performance was the second last of the night. It gave them a bit of time to recover.

Eventually it was time for nsync to go to their dressing room to change into their stage outfits. Which oddly, looked quite conservative compared to their VMA outfits.

They met up with Britney and the back up dancers backstage. Britney was up first.

"Good luck Brit" Justin smile.

"Thanks Justin. I know you guys will be great!"

"Britney, you're up!" Yelled a stage manager.

Ooooo see you boys on stage!" She said excitedly before she ran out.

Britney really knew how to hold a crowds attention. The audience couldn't help but sing along to "hit me baby one more time". Then, it was Nsync's turn.

A school bell rang and nsync jumped onto the stage.

It's tearin up my heart when I'm with you

_But when we are apart I feel it too_

_And no matter what I do i feel the pain_

_With or without you_

_They carried off their dance moves flawlessly. The audience loved them._

_Baby I dont understand_

_Just why we can't be lovers_

_Things are getting out of hand_

_Tryin too much but baby we can't win_

_Let it go, if you want me girl let me know_

_I am down on my knees_

_I can't take it anymore_

It was like all of the excitement that they should have been able to feel since arriving just hit Lance and Justin when they got to the stage. They were really performing at the VMAs. It felt incredible.

Lance smiled as he saw Justin shimmer across the stage. He was so beautiful and he was his. That was even more special than performing at the VMAs. He felt so lucky.

_It's tearin up my heart when I'm with you_

_But when we are apart I feel it too_

_And no matter what I do I feel the pain_

_With or without you_

When the VMAs was over many of the celebrities congregated outside. Though most left to go home. The press had left too.

Joey and JC were busy talking to Christina Aguelira and Chris was in the bathroom. Justin took this opportunity to excuse himself and Lance so that they could check on Future Lance.

"Hey Lansten" Justin called as he spotted him.

Future lance's eyes seemed to light up a bit.

"Hey guys! Wow, you did it! I"m so proud of you both" he said enthusiastically.

"Thanks" they both replied at the same time.

"No really, you two are amazing. I can go home now, knowing that it's going to be so much better than what I left with".

"Are you going away Lansten?" A British voice asked as a man put an arm around Future Lance's shoulder.

"Oh! Hey David" future Lance said flusteredly. "I am, tonight actually. Why do you ask?".

"That's a pity" David Bowie said dissapointedly. "Because I was going to ask if you'd like to get a cup of coffee with me some time".

"With me?" Future Lances eyes widened.

"Well, if i'm not going to get to see you again after tonight then I would regret it if I didn't at least do this".

David leaned in and pressed his lips to Future Lance's.

A few minutes earlier, Joey and JC were still talking to Christina but Joey was starting to feel a little excluded from the conversation. He knew that they weren't doing it on purpose but he also didn't feel like he had anything to contribute.

Joey looked around boredly when he spotted Lance and Justin talking to Lance's..Lance's guy that as far as he knew, he had been "seeing". It seemed odd to him that Lance looked so comfortable talking to him with Justin. Considering how Lance had been so weird and awkward about this guy to the rest of them. Maybe Lance was starting to get more confident about himself.

Then he he saw David Bowie. First, he saw him put an arm around Lances man. Which, you know, Joey figured might make him a little jealous, but it wasn't a big deal. However he didn't trust the way that he smiled at David. But then! He kissed David right in front of poor Lance!

Joey saw the look of horror on Lance's face. He could only imagine how hurt he would be feeling. Nobody does that to Joey's friend and gets away with it.

At a lightning pace, Joey came barreling over.

"Joey what are you-"

BAM

Just as David pulled his lips away Joeys fist collided with future Lance's face, knocking him to the floor.

"Lansten!" Cried David Bowie as he fell to the floor to check that he was ok. As did Lance and Justin.

Joey was panting and standing over future Lance. Somewhat regretting punching him as hard as he did.

"Is he..is he alright?" Joey asked quietly.

Chris and JC also ran over.

"Im fine" future Lance croaked. "Don't worry about me".

"Why did you do that!?" Lance interrogated.

"Becau-" Joey remembered where they were and knelt down so that he wouldn't be overheard.

"Because you deserve better Lance. I tried to be cool about this, but I just can't do it anymore. I know that you think that age is just a number and all that. But to be honest, there is probably a reason why this guy can't get somebody his own age" he gestured toward future Lance.

"Hey!" Future Lance said indignantly. He didn't know why he felt offended at the idea of not being good enough for his younger self.

"I get that you're mature for your age. But trust me, you would be so much happier dating another mature young person, not some emotionally stunted adult.

"Hey!" Future Lance said, a little more indignant than before.

"It's not-" Lance embarrassedly attempted to explain. He felt even more embarassed that they were having this conversation in front of David Bowie.

Joey interrupted him.

"He kissed another guy right in front of you! In public! That is so disrespectful".

"Wait, you two are dating?" David frowned.

"We broke up" Lance blurted out.

"..oh" Joey stopped. "You could have told me that earlier..Before I went and made an idiot of myself".

"I'm sorry. I appreciate that you care about me though" Lance said sincerely.

Justin had been trying not to giggle through Joey's speech.

"That's ok..I was just worried, you know" Joey said bashfully.

"And you'd be happy to know that he's dating a mature young person now" Justin gulped as all eyes turned to him. "At least I'd like to think I"m mature".

"You and Lance are dating?" JC exclaimed.

"I knew it!" Yelled Chris excitedly.

"No you didn't, sit down" Lance laughed.

"Well, I wouldn't have guessed that..but I'm really happy for you." Joey smiled at Justin. "I have a better feeling about this boyfriend".

"Thanks" Justin said. They both smiled back at him. Justin was so happy that his best friends were so accepting. He knew that they would be, but it was stil hard to get the courage.

"Yes, congratulations Lance and Justin, I wish you two the best of luck" added David Bowie.

Lance and Justin giggled and thanked him too.

 

* * *

 

 

 

Lance, future Lance and Justin left the VMAs together to go back to Lance's house. Lance had told the other guys that future Lance had to pick up the last of his stuff from his house before he 'moved away'.

Lance and Justin had helped him gather his things and prepare to go home. They were saying their last goodbyes.

"So.. You're really leaving" said Lance somewhat sadly.

"Yes, I'm afraid so" he smiled a comforting smile but his eyes were as sad as Lances.

He was happy to be able to go back to a future where the Backstreet Boys hadn't succeeded at world domination. But leaving was bittersweet. In the time that they had spent together he felt like him and his younger self had become friends.

"It was really nice knowing you Lansten" added Justin.

"Aw, you too Justin. Come here" Future Lance hugged Justin tightly.

"Hey uh, I just remembered" future Lance's voice trembled slightly as he pulled away. "I left some stuff in your bedroom. I'm gonna go get it" he said hurriedly to Lance.

Future Lance walked swiftly down the hall and shut the bedroom door behind him.

He fell back against the door as tears streamed down his face. His knees grew weak and his back slid down the door until he was seated on the floor.

Then he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a tattered photograph of a man roughly his age with deep blue eyes. Tears fell onto it's surface as he stared at it.

"We did it, baby" he whispered as he delicately traced the man's cheek with his thumb.

"We did it".

He sobbed painfully "I'm never going to lose you again".

When future Lance still hadn't returned from the bedroom, Lance figured he should check on him. "Do you need any help finding anything!?" Lance called out from the other room.

"No, it's fine!" Replied future Lance as normally as he could.

He took a deep breath and put the photo back in his pocket. Then he fixed his hair and walked out. He had calmed down and the fact that he was crying didn't look too obvious.

"Well, I don't think that I've forgotten anything" Future Lance commented.

"Wait! I almost forgot!" Lance removed the moon crystal from around his neck and went to hand it to future Lance.

"You can keep it Lance. Take it as a thank you from me. For saving the world". Said future Lance.

"Really? Uh, are you sure?" Lance asked cautiously.

"Yes. I trust that I won't need it anymore on the timeline that I return to." His face softened "Besides, you seemed to do better with it than I did".

"I couldn't have without your help" Lance smiled.

"I'm going to miss you" Lance said sadly as he threw his arms around future Lance.

"I'm going to miss you too Lance" future Lance replied sincerely.

"I have to go" future Lance said solemnly as the hug ended.

"I know" sighed Lance.

"Goodbye Lance and Justin, thank you for your help" Future Lance said as he entered the silver box that he had arrived in.

"Goodbye Lansten, thank you for helping us to stop the Backstreet Boys" Justin smiled.

"Goodbye" Lance whispered again emotionally.

There was a bright flash of light and just like that, future Lance was gone. Lance noticed that his house was filled with the same odd atmosphere as when future Lance arrived.

This faded shortly after though.

 

* * *

 

 

 

Justin and Lance spent the rest of the night laying in bed together. Holding each other while they watched terrible movies.

It was nice to finally get to do something normal together. It was a very cold night but they kept each other warm under a pile of blankets.

"I'm proud of you Justin" Lance said suddenly.

"Why's that?" Justin asked as he looked up at his boyfriend. His deep blue eyes twinkled.

"For telling the guys about us..and about you." Then Lance laughed "and in front of David Bowie no less".

"Thank you, I'm glad that I did though. It feels like a weight off my shoulders to not have to keep it a secret" Justin snuggled in closer "and I'd want my friends to know if I was with somebody who made me this happy" he said shyly.

"Awwww you're so great" Lance smiled and wrapped his arms around Justin tighter. "I hope that future me is lucky enough to go home to you" he joked.


End file.
